"Dead Aid" author calls for overhaul of aid assistance

[edwinaneufeld]

Keep up the awesome work!

[53Africa]

Botswana Pula remains the strongest currency on the African continent compare to the South African Rand which comes in 2nd place. The mechanism of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), float like a Butterfly and sting like a bee! NEPAD, SADC, East African Community (EAC), Southern African Customs Union ( SACU); ECOWAS and the African Union are the responsible blocs for economics development in our continent.

[jamo387]

How about you just leave Africa alone and let them solve their own problems? Nahhh, lets just put them on the dole like westerners do to all black people.

[cambrai1918]

@tigerone1970

Are you aware that much of the US economy in 1914 was foreign-owned. Some sectors (transportation, for example) were as much as 70 % foreign-owned. It does not seem to have harmed the US. The same is true of Canada, to an even larger degree. The issue is not foreign investment but rather domestic re-investment of the proceeds. That happened in the US and Canada and as these economies grew domestic ownership OUTGREW foreign ownership.

[tigerone1970]

DM: " So for example what tends to happen is that i believe things like the trad regimes where in a africa we know that tariffs remain incredibly high and foreign direct investment is discouraged in places where it takes such a long time to get a business license. "

[tigerone1970]

Thank you, Ms. Goldman Sachs. What should be happening, is that LOCAL businesses are encouraged, not foreign investment/foreign ownership. We don't need to 'create jobs' but create wealth and make sure it is the hands of ordinary people.

It most definitely does matter who owns the economy, Ms. Moyo.

[ILoveGoodFellas]

exactly, its about devoloping a self-sustaining and growing domestic economy, grow via increased exports and facilitating foreign investment {not ownership} >>> Its like, seeing every other kid in an afri-country with a pepsi can is not progress

[tigerone1970]

I am not at all against the exportation of surpluses of food and manufactured goods. The problem comes when entire African economies are geared toward exports - mainly raw materials and 'cash crops' (tea, coffee, etc.).

What is needed, is growing food for the domestic population, and manufacturing goods that are consumed in the country.

We need to create a huge middle class, and do so by raising incomes (demand), universal education and healthcare, and...

[tigerone1970]

and investing money from raw materials exports into infrastructure, agriculture and manufacturing (including manufacturing raw materials into finished goods).

In 2004, Zambia exported $4 billion in copper, cobalt and other minerals. The state received $6 million in taxes, but $600 million in 'donor aid'.

Obviously, 'donor aid' is supposed to stand in for taxes. Except that donor aid comes with a lot of strings attached, and can be withheld when they don't like domestic or foreign policies.

[tigerone1970]

It is like gratuitous tv advertising by defense contractors. They don't advertise because they think someone at home can buy a battle ship, but so they can withdraw advertising when they don't like a story that is being run about them. Advertising then is about controlling the news. Donor aid is about controlling other country's domestic policies.

And that makes donor aid actively anti-democratic, because it takes away the say voters have over their own governments.