Africa needs good governance not aid

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Africa needs good governance not aid

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Poll

Question:

A recent poll revealed that Canadian business executives think that Africa needs good government before aid could be released. Do you agree? [Pleasel login to vote]

Yes - I think Africa needs good governance first!		3 (100%)
No - I think Africa needs aid first!		0 (0%)

Total Votes: 3

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Topic: Africa needs good governance not aid (Read 509 times)

Nyamweya Osoro
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Africa needs good governance not aid
« on: March 23, 2006, 06:28:34 PM »

A recent Financial Post poll revealed that Canadian business executives think developed nations should focus on helping create “good governance” in Africa before giving more aid to the continent.

About 81% of participants also said Canada should make it easier for African nations to export goods to Canada “because a pro-trade policy is much less likely to breed corruption or even resentment than a pro-aid policy,” according to the poll of chief executives and other senior business leaders.

The poll conducted by COMPAS Inc. came a week after the leaders of the Group of Eight industrial countries agreed to boost aid to developing nations and forgive the foreign debt of Africa’s poorest countries. However, business leaders in the poll worried that “rampant” corruption in many African countries diverts money into the hands of a powerful few at the expense of ordinary citizens.

Instead, the poll respondents called for targeted aid in infrastructure projects, such as providing clean water, to sidestep corruption.

“G8 countries should focus on developing good governance systems and opening up trade with African countries,” wrote one respondent.

“Giving direct financial aid to corrupt African regimes only reinforces the status quo.”

Added another respondent: “Aid should be given to countries that have good government and programs to improve their nation’s economy.”

Some respondents see closed markets in the West as a key hurdle to Africa’s development.

“As far as the protectionism policy prevents free and fair access of African products to the developed markets, we are not going to see any tangible improvement in Africa,” one wrote.

However, not all respondents had reservations about boosting aid to Africa — about 15% think it is “long overdue.”

“The G8 leaders need to start working together to end world poverty — enough is enough!” one respondent wrote.


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Charles D Mwewa
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Re: Africa needs good governance not aid
« Reply #1 on: April 03, 2007, 12:37:27 PM »

In the last two decades, the cry of the international community has been good governance for Africa. And by good governance they have always meant reduced corruption, peaceful transition after elections and meeting stipulated conditionality for poverty reduction. These are fantastic stipulations, but they have also missed the mark. They are usually stipulated against a backdrop of a history that Africa must first redefine before we can start to see progress now and the future.

Our biggest challenge is leadership and understanding the dynamics of productivity. At first, this looks like the obvious thing Africa must address, but when it applies to our history, it is not as straight forward. In the late 60s most African nations attained some form of political independence, but this was only at the political level. And during the first decade after gaining independence most African nations dealt very well with their political and economic issues. In fact, some nations had some very attractive growth rates to their national income (i.e., the gross domestic product).

These 'glorious' decades were very crucial to the future of Africa, but we missed the mark. We were too excited with inherited power and forgot to invest in productive ventures. Power confused us and we ruled our nations like personal enterprises. And as a result we held onto power too tightly even when change was inevitable. The paradox is, the longer we held onto power the less productive we became and the more debt we accrued. And now we do not only resort to aid but we also run our budgets on deficit. In this way also aid and productivity are related. If our internal debt is insurmountable, the external debt will be excruciating. And that's what has hampered Africa's development.

The role of leadership in all this is twofold. Firstly, leadership must provide vision and long term programmes towards revamping economic investment. Like one respondent noted: “Aid should be given to countries that have good government and programs to improve their nation’s economy.” I agree with the later, good economic programs will, to some extent, prevent greedy leaders from misusing aid and thereby channelling it into needy areas. This also will ensure that posterity will not have to resort to aid in order to run government.

Secondly, a new image of a well-informed, investment-oriented, industrious and innovative leadership should emerge in Africa to translate that vision into action. Africa, a vast continent of 53 countries cannot continue to depend on the goodwill of eight nations (G8) for its destiny. These countries at one time had also borrowed but were wise enough to invest in what we now get as aid. Begging is not bad if you can use it to prevent further begging!

My theory about good governance is that there is nothing like good government or bad one. Government is neutral, it's the people that run government who either fail or succeed in meeting the needs of their Masters, who are the people who place them in power. A 'bad government' therefore is due to incompetent leaders ruling through government. Bad leaders can manipulate state instruments to their own selfish ambitions. Good leadership will use anything at its disposal, including aid, to help uplift their nations out of economic and political doldrums!

Africa, therefore, urgently needs new and innovative leaders to help redefine the African vision and utilize anything at its disposal, including a bit of aid, to improve the lives of its people!


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