Travels with Grumpus

This is too good not to link to. African economist James Shikwati begs Western countries to stop sending aid to Africa, arguing that aid is actually responsible for many of the continent’s ills.

Huge bureaucracies are financed (with the aid money), corruption and complacency are promoted, Africans are taught to be beggars and not to be independent. In addition, development aid weakens the local markets everywhere and dampens the spirit of entrepreneurship that we so desperately need. As absurd as it may sound: Development aid is one of the reasons for Africa’s problems. If the West were to cancel these payments, normal Africans wouldn’t even notice. Only the functionaries would be hard hit. Which is why they maintain that the world would stop turning without this development aid.

Not only does most foreign aid go directly into the pockets of politicians, the free food and clothing that does make it out to the people kills off local farming, industry, and trade between African countries: things Africa desperately needs to lift itself out of poverty.

Local farmers may as well put down their hoes right away; no one can compete with the UN’s World Food Program. And because the farmers go under in the face of this pressure, Kenya would have no reserves to draw on if there actually were a famine next year. It’s a simple but fatal cycle.

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Why do we get these mountains of clothes? No one is freezing here. Instead, our tailors lose their livlihoods. They’re in the same position as our farmers. No one in the low-wage world of Africa can be cost-efficient enough to keep pace with donated products.

This brings to mind that Paul Theroux piece I blogged about a couple of years ago. “But,” you argue. “Bono is too earnest, and Angelina and Brad are just too darn good looking to be wrong.” Stick to music and improving the gene pool, I say.