"For God's Sake, Please Stop the Aid!" (1 Viewer)

[White]

"For God's Sake, Please Stop the Aid!"

The Kenyan economics expert James Shikwati, 35, says that aid to Africa does more harm than good. The avid proponent of globalization spoke with SPIEGEL about the disastrous effects of Western development policy in Africa, corrupt rulers, and the tendency to overstate the AIDS problem.

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/0,1518,363663,00 .html

Here´s also interesting stuff,

Africa 'better in colonial times'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3679706.stm

Stop begging, Africa leaders told
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4647579.stm

Ten years after Apartheid (1994-2004): The Raw Facts
http://www.africancrisis.org/Ph_TenYears.asp

 

[White]

No comments ? :shock:

 

[Red_Dave]

Its important not to confuse aid with chairity its more of a rebate of sorts. The economist Hans Singer established that third world countrys tend to lose out in international trade, where developed countrys get richer. Therefore aid works as a rebate. It certainly needs reform though. If your intrested alot of Hans Singers work is availble online

 

[Kandahar]

Its important not to confuse aid with chairity its more of a rebate of sorts. The economist Hans Singer established that third world countrys tend to lose out in international trade, where developed countrys get richer. Therefore aid works as a rebate. It certainly needs reform though. If your intrested alot of Hans Singers work is availble online

The problem is that one of the main causes of their poverty in the first place is the internal corruption...and this same problem means that most of the aid money disappears long before it reaches the starving masses.

 

[Medussa]

Africa has many problems and it's not just the politicians, the masses are part of it was well. I will speak only from my experiences and life in SA, I have no right to comment on other African nations. Keep that in mind. One of the problems is utter laziness, the feeling that 'somebody will do it', hence very little get's done. Greed is a big problem, like Kandahar said corruption... it is literally everwhere, from officials using government planes for their holidays to people getting salaries and insane bonusses for work they never did.

 

[Unfair]

The problem is that one of the main causes of their poverty in the first place is the internal corruption...and this same problem means that most of the aid money disappears long before it reaches the starving masses.

wrong

european imperialism has everything to do with the current state of the continent

 

[Kandahar]

wrong

european imperialism has everything to do with the current state of the continent

Not really. European imperialism is hardly unique to Africa, and many African countries are actually worse off now than they were when the Europeans left.

 

[Medussa]

A few facts in regards to African nations.

Independence from the UK:
Swaziland, 1968
Zimbabwe, 1979
Zambia, 1923-1964
Tanzania, 1964
Kenya, 1963
Uganda, 1962
Somalia, 1960
Sudan, 1956
Nigeria, 1960
Ghana, 1957
Sierra Leone, 1961
Gambia, 1965
Egypt, 1922, due to financial matters...

Independence from France:
Congo, 1960
Gabon, 1960
Chad, 1960
Cameroon, 1961
Benin, 1960
Togo, 1960
Cote d'Ivoire, 1960
Guinnea, 1958
Senegal, 1960
Mali, 1960
Mauritania, 1960
Nïger, 1960
Algeria, 1962

Others:
Namibia - Germany 1966, Independce from RSA 1990
Angola - Portugal 1975
DRC - Belgium 1960
Libya - Italy, 1951
Morocco - Spain, 1860, from France 1956

Roughly most countries had 40+ years to 'recuperate' from European rule. Are they better of now? No.

One nation in particular is one of the worst, Ethiopia. And guess what, Ethiopia is the oldest African country when it comes to being independant. There was a short rule by the Italians from 1936-1941, though I doubt that had a significant effect on them...
I quote:
oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/et.html

My patience runs a bit thin when European Imperialism is thrown as the reason for the poverty and state of the nations. The countries run themselves to the ground.

 

[My_name_is_not_Larry]

wrong

european imperialism has everything to do with the current state of the continent

dam socialist.

 

[White]

wrong

european imperialism has everything to do with the current state of the continent

Where these people come from ? This is so.... :doh

 

[Unfair]

obviously you naysayers are lacking in intelligence and knowledge. Africa was fine before whites came. Just like the usa was fine before whites came. Everywhere was fine before whites destoryed it.

 

[LogicalReason]

obviously you naysayers are lacking in intelligence and knowledge. Africa was fine before whites came. Just like the usa was fine before whites came. Everywhere was fine before whites destoryed it.

Typical dribble from an uneducated fool who lacks intelligence and knowledge of the situtations he speaks of.. and so insults anyone who offers a more educated and knowledgeable view of said situation.

You say Africa was fine before the whites came... there were over 10,000 different states and goverments and half a dozen stable and wealthy ones? The main problem with Africa today is that its poor. Thats not truly a fault of europian colonization.. it was poor before they came and it was poor when they left. There were always tribal wars and what not in Africa now they just get media coverage. The problem with Africa is its instability, corruption, violence, and authoritarianism.

 

[My_name_is_not_Larry]

Typical dribble from an uneducated fool who lacks intelligence and knowledge of the situtations he speaks of.. and so insults anyone who offers a more educated and knowledgeable view of said situation.

You say Africa was fine before the whites came... there were over 10,000 different states and goverments and half a dozen stable and wealthy ones? The main problem with Africa today is that its poor. Thats not truly a fault of europian colonization.. it was poor before they came and it was poor when they left. There were always tribal wars and what not in Africa now they just get media coverage. The problem with Africa is its instability, corruption, violence, and authoritarianism.

Well put logical reason. Couldn't have said it better myself.

Looking at other posts made by Unfair, most of them have not been well thought out. Although I have had my fair share of dumb posts, most of them have actually contributed to the forum and offered knowledge to those not well educated in certain issues. Unfair, however has not. Just consistent, (for lack of a better word) ranting about how he's right and how the people who actually researched the topic and made educated and well thought out descisions are wrong.

 

[Llew323]

obviously you naysayers are lacking in intelligence and knowledge. Africa was fine before whites came. Just like the usa was fine before whites came. Everywhere was fine before whites destoryed it.

Personal insults do not help your case.

I happen to think that the USA is still fine...great in fact. And it wasn't the USA until the colonists formed it. There was no USA before the "whites" came.

Medussa is right. They've been independent long enough now to be clear of European imperilism.

I know this is an old post...but it bugged me so I had to say something

 

[Medussa]

I stumbled onto this late reply totally per chance.

There is no instant fix or cure for Africa. The political mess internally is what keeps the people down. It will keep them down untill they put their cultural differences aside; and instead of voting according to loyalty vote according to logic. I've seen what damage cultural differences can do on this side, the African cultures don't get along and it just deteriorates the higher ranking the person is. Let me give you a quick example just to show it, there can be an old Xhosa man cutting the lawn for the residential complex, who can't read and write, dirt poor, and there can be a young Xhosa man living in the complex he is cutting the grass for. Society says that the young Xhosa is of a higher rank, higher income, higher social status, bzzzz wrong answer, thanks for playing though... the old man has the higher rank and people will vote accordingly. I've seen educated young people bow down to older illiterate community members and for them it's not wrong. It's part of their culture.