From Bono to Angelina Jolie, the ‘cool’ humanitarian thing to do these days is to send money to Africa, you know, to help feed, shelter, educate and provide medical services to the starving boney children with flies on their eyes. What may come across as shocking to the Bonos of our world is that not all humanitarian efforts have helped the continent, at least that’s what Moyo would say. Most Africanists have heard of Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo for her clear-cut assertion that foreign aid has not only stagnated, but that it has also been the root cause of developmental retardation for the African continent. Perhaps it is a combination of Moyo’s conservative side and her African roots that have given her considerable attention, often compared to Ayaan Hirsi-Ali -another conservative figure bred on the continent who is widely known for criticizing the Prophet Muhammad. It comes as no surprise that both Hirsi Ali and Moyo have contributed their knowledge and experience to the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, a harbor of conservative scholar academia.
The emergence of popular, educated African women icons such as Moyo has given Western as well as other audiences new paths for understanding why Africa’s predicament is still enduring decades after colonial rule. Moyo’s perspective is not a completely unexplored opinion, authors such as Paul Easterly have advocated for diminishing help from bureaucratic organizations and instead searching for what he refers to as ‘homegrown development’. So what is fundamentally different about ‘Dead Aid’? Moyo’s audience ranges from prominent politicians such as Rwandan President Paul Kagame who have been pushing for gradual independence from foreign assistance, to economists such as Jeffrey Sachs who advocate for the ‘end of [African] poverty’ through Western aid.
Throughout her many interviews, Moyo reiterates the main issues that she also raises in her book, one of which argues that foreign aid fuels corruption since there is no transparent allocation of the donation. Moyo raises an interesting point about the lack of fund appropriation for foreign aid; she also understands how this has trapped Africa in an aid dependency cycle that, coupled with operational bureaucracies, disables the development of private enterprise. Thirdly, Moyo argues that ‘large inflows of capital… really kill off the export sector’ because most African nations are abundant in extractable minerals and resources. Finally, Moyo elaborates on the consequences of corruption that result in the African government’s lack of accountability, rather than being held responsible by its people, governments have geared their liability to international organizations and businesses. As a result, Moyo makes the assertion that an African middle-class is barely existent, instead the disparities between the wealthy who remain in power and the poor who are barely surviving, continue to be the center of African realities.
Personally, I would say that Moyo’s collection of data that support her one-sided views have elements of truth within them, however, it would be unrealistic to reinforce a 'let's cut off all foreign aid to Africa' instantly. Despite the corruption and the bureaucracy, foreign aid has been the main source for the survival of at least an estimated millions, for this reason, the plan to decrease and eventually cut off foreign aid would be to strengthen the government's provision of public services. The measures would take time especially because most African governments are known for their notorious personal economic drives, that is why an internal change in the political institutions would have to be upheld alongside the development of a stronger civil society. As Moyo suggests, micro-finance is one of the most effective ways of establishing these goals since a 'homegrown' or bottom-up development could be sustainable in the long-term growth of Africa.The biggest challenges remain: how to deal with political greed? how do we create incentives for African governments to establish public services?
The emergence of popular, educated African women icons such as Moyo has given Western as well as other audiences new paths for understanding why Africa’s predicament is still enduring decades after colonial rule. Moyo’s perspective is not a completely unexplored opinion, authors such as Paul Easterly have advocated for diminishing help from bureaucratic organizations and instead searching for what he refers to as ‘homegrown development’. So what is fundamentally different about ‘Dead Aid’? Moyo’s audience ranges from prominent politicians such as Rwandan President Paul Kagame who have been pushing for gradual independence from foreign assistance, to economists such as Jeffrey Sachs who advocate for the ‘end of [African] poverty’ through Western aid.
Throughout her many interviews, Moyo reiterates the main issues that she also raises in her book, one of which argues that foreign aid fuels corruption since there is no transparent allocation of the donation. Moyo raises an interesting point about the lack of fund appropriation for foreign aid; she also understands how this has trapped Africa in an aid dependency cycle that, coupled with operational bureaucracies, disables the development of private enterprise. Thirdly, Moyo argues that ‘large inflows of capital… really kill off the export sector’ because most African nations are abundant in extractable minerals and resources. Finally, Moyo elaborates on the consequences of corruption that result in the African government’s lack of accountability, rather than being held responsible by its people, governments have geared their liability to international organizations and businesses. As a result, Moyo makes the assertion that an African middle-class is barely existent, instead the disparities between the wealthy who remain in power and the poor who are barely surviving, continue to be the center of African realities.
Personally, I would say that Moyo’s collection of data that support her one-sided views have elements of truth within them, however, it would be unrealistic to reinforce a 'let's cut off all foreign aid to Africa' instantly. Despite the corruption and the bureaucracy, foreign aid has been the main source for the survival of at least an estimated millions, for this reason, the plan to decrease and eventually cut off foreign aid would be to strengthen the government's provision of public services. The measures would take time especially because most African governments are known for their notorious personal economic drives, that is why an internal change in the political institutions would have to be upheld alongside the development of a stronger civil society. As Moyo suggests, micro-finance is one of the most effective ways of establishing these goals since a 'homegrown' or bottom-up development could be sustainable in the long-term growth of Africa.The biggest challenges remain: how to deal with political greed? how do we create incentives for African governments to establish public services?
