March 19, 2010
Published: 24 Aug 09 10:27 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/21646/20090824/
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Sweden's Minister for International Development Cooperation, Gunilla Carlsson, has called for an open debate over the role of development aid in the wake of a corruption scandal in Zambia.
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With this aid, dictators world over have resources to use in oppressing their populations.
The biggest achievement of development aid is the enlargement of the rich-poor gap.
The best help you can give the 3rd world is not to give any help at all. It is not until then that they will shape up and start organizing themselves. Even as basic help as Malaria, HIV etc works against these countries, since they do not make any effort themselves to do anything about it. It is just the Western worlds responisbility. Welfare, freedom and liberty comes from taking responsibility for yourself.
One other hand, money given to NGO, if lost, is difficult to get back. In most cases, an NGOa is made up of small group of people who could disappear without trace. About 75% of NGO in the world are unreliable (about 25% are excellent dynamic organizations). Regarding NGO, theft can be minimised by regular supervision. This can be done by requiring them to suplement a workplan (including fund disbusment plan). When ever the NGO requests for an additional fund, Sida (Sweden) should demand accountability for fund previous provided. Regular site visits to monitor project progress insures that fund is not used other than the project Sida has approved.
My susprise is why Sida waited until 7 million dollars is stolen? If this money is lost over a course of many years, why did Sida waited before it demanded accountability? Before the minister rushes into making new policies, she should dispatch a group of experts to study the matter and come with recommendations.
Then aid money should be cancelled.
Then redirect the money into infrastucture, schools, universities and hopsitals.
More trains might be a good start.
having an open job market, usually short of labour, with no hidden cultural barriers to 3rd world immigrant workers is the best form of development aid ...
not only does a large amount of (corruption-free) cash find its way back to the developing world ... but also vital skills and ideas (show-how and know-how)
In this way the true leading aid donors of the world are the countries with the highest proportion of 3rd world workers in their legal and illegal workforces remitting cash to family and friends back home
Government aid programmes are wasteful, counter-productive and pure PR for a domestic and international audience
Africa has a beutiful history full of mistery and that history
is not complete without the divide and conquer by the colonial powers of Europe and the devestating impact of long term slavery of her people. What Africa needs today is a MARSHALL PLAN just like what the US offered Europe after second World war. It is no wonder there is still some sort of Economic benefit for Europe as long as the continent remains impoverish. Kudos to Sweden for the developmental efforts so far. Perhaps its about time to redress the methodology and future of Foreign Aid to Developing Nations. Long Live the Kingdom of Sweden!!! Long Live Africa!!!
Speech Delivered by General George Marshall at Harvard University on June 5, 1947
Source: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1947marshallplan1.html
"Any assistance that this Government may render in the future should provide a cure rather than a mere palliative.
It is already evident that, before the United States Government can proceed much further in its efforts to alleviate the situation and help start the European world on its way to recovery, there must be some agreement among the countries of Europe as to the requirements of the situation and the part those countries themselves will take in order to give proper effect to whatever action might be undertaken by this Government. It would be neither fitting nor efficacious for this Government to undertake to draw up unilaterally a program designed to place Europe on its feet economically. This is the business of the Europeans. The initiative, I think, must come from Europe. The role of this country should consist of friendly aid in the drafting of a European program and of later support of such a program so far as it may be practical for us to do so. The program should be a joint one, agreed to by a number, if not all, European nations.
An essential part of any successful action on the part of the United States is an understanding on the part of the people of America of the character of the problem and the remedies to be applied. Political passion and prejudice should have no part. With foresight, and a willingness on the part of our people to face up to the vast responsibility which history has clearly placed upon our country, the difficulties I have outlined can and will be overcome." -- General George Marshall excerpt from speech
A little fact you have ommitted.
The Marchall Plan was a series of loans. It was not a cash hand out.
All of which have since been paid back, which the US goverment has flushed down the toilet.
Everytime Africa is given a loan or direct aid, it squanders it, where'as the German's, Dutch, Danish and Austrians got the trains to run on time and there infrastucture built up.
The distribution of development aid is vulnerable to corruption, but instead of stopping aid altogether and allowing the cycle of poverty to continue spinning, appropriate structures must be put in place to ensure transparency and accountability. The first steps can come from the donor: to ensure that recipient countries either practise good governance already or to work with motivated governments and civil society to improve the state of governance. On both the donor and recipient side, aid money should be audited and those responsible held accountable.
There are solutions!! Transparency International put out a policy paper on this very subject. Ignoring the poverty of millions because a few leaders abuse their power will not improve the lives of those who need it most. http://bit.ly/3sIFAI
In Zaire -- known today as the Democratic Republic of Congo -- Irwin Blumenthal (whom the IMF had appointed to a post in the country's central bank) warned in 1978 that the system was so corrupt that there was "no (repeat, no) prospect for Zaire's creditors to get their money back." Still, the IMF soon gave the country the largest loan it had ever given an African nation. According to corruption watchdog agency Transparency International, Mobutu Sese Seko, Zaire's president from 1965 to 1997, is reputed to have stolen at least $5 billion from the country.
It's scarcely better today. recently , Malawi's former President Bakili Muluzi was charged with embezzling aid money worth $12 million. Zambia's former President Frederick Chiluba (a development darling during his 1991 to 2001 tenure) remains embroiled in a court case that has revealed millions of dollars frittered away from health, education and infrastructure toward his personal cash dispenser. Yet the aid keeps on coming.
A constant stream of "free" money is a perfect way to keep an inefficient or simply bad government in power. As aid flows in, there is nothing more for the government to do -- it doesn't need to raise taxes, and as long as it pays the army, it doesn't have to take account of its disgruntled citizens. No matter that its citizens are disenfranchised (as with no taxation there can be no representation). All the government really needs to do is to court and cater to its foreign donors to stay in power. It time for the donors to revisit their international aid policy to Africa because it is not working but infact part of the problem.