Some thoughts on foreign aid, good intensions, sustainable development and how money can be awfully bad spent….

I came across a talk by Andrew Mwenda the other day. His talk made my head start spinning. It is still spinning around some fundamental questions that I think all people working with development, charity and third world economies need to put their heads around and consider carefully. I am not saying that all foreign aid should stop, or that all charity is useless. Not at all. What I am saying is: Listen to what he’s saying – carefully – some of it is worth more than gold……

First, view this 17 minute talk: Andrew Mwenda takes a new look at Africa

Andrew Mwenda has been highly critical towards aid agencies and charities because he believes they are only supporting ineffective governments and corruption. He has been charged for sedition (tilskyndelse til oprør) in 2005 because he discussed the cause of death of the Sudanese vice-president John Garang openly in a radio broadcast.

However, Andrew Mwendas articles have been published in leading western newspapers and magazines and he is highly respected by Western press because he displays what he calls the true Africa and not the pitty-Africa common media displays.

Andrew Mwenda poses some fundamental questions;
Did anyone ever become rich by receiving charity?
Why is foreign aid treating the symptoms and not the problems?
Why is Uganda not benefitting from duty free export of sugar to Europe, but importing sugar from South America?

What I don’t understand is that reasonable people in the international aid organisations can’t see what is happening. How can they think that Africa is only hopelessness and despair? Can’t they see that only 48 of 54 countries are at war? Haven’t they seen how rich Africans wear expensive clothes, drive big cars and live a wonderful life? Maybe they just don’t WANT to see all the positive news? Are they walking in the pitty-cloud?

I can’t help thinking about a youtube video that was being distributed once, showing how little the ordinary American in the street knew about other countries and the political situation in the world. Is it possible that well-educated people from all over the world believe that the media is displaying the truth and nothing but the truth about Africa???

I am very intrigued to know more on this subject and to discover a proper way to make Africans take the opportunities they have and are given and take ownership of the future.

IPO48, a networking portal for entrepreneurs and investors, is certainly taking their part in making opportunities and ideas become profitable business through events and competitions. You can read more about the concept on ponderplanes.com – a blog about social economy, CSR and sustainability.

Also former Managing Director of World Bank, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, believes that Africa can benefit from the aid that is being given, if only the governments would use it better. Her TED talk is definitely also worth watching, as she puts on the solution-hat and proposes infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure and discipline as the 4 most important catalysts to growth in Africa.

I hope that these two talks have made you start thinking and that it has made you interested in knowing more about the 48 other countries on the African continent. Personally, I would love to hear all the positive news as this can inspire me to think of new ways and new solutions.