Helping Africa of course is noble but the entire process has now been turned into a theater of the absurd - the blind leading the clueless. The first absurdity is the fact that Africa doesn't need aid. Its begging bowl leaks terribly. The aid resources Africa desperately needs can be found in Africa itself by plugging these leakages. Corruption is one huge leakage.
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo once claimed that African leaders have stolen at least $140 billion (£95 billion) from their people since independence (London Independent, June 14, 2002. Web posted at www. independent.co.uk). At the Commonwealth Summit in Abuja, Nigeria on December 3, 2003, former British secretary of state for international development, Rt. Hon Lynda Chalker, revealed that 40 per cent of wealth created in Africa is invested outside the continent. Chalker said African economies would have fared better if the wealth created on the continent were retained within. "If you can get your kith and kin to bring the funds back and have it invested in infrastructure, the economies of African countries would be much better than what there are today," she said (This Day, Lagos, Dec 4, 2003).
Then in August 2004, an African Union report claimed that Africa loses an estimated $148 billion annually to corrupt practices, a figure which represents 25 percent of the continent's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Vanguard, Lagos, Aug 6, 2004. Web posted at www.allafrica.com).
If the African Union or African leaders were to cut corruption in half, they would find more than enough resources than the paltry $25 billion they receive in foreign aid from all sources.
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Sat, 28 Feb 2009 - 19:40
Helping Africa of course is noble but the entire process has now been turned into a theater of the absurd - the blind leading the clueless. The first absurdity is the fact that Africa doesn't need aid. Its begging bowl leaks terribly. The aid resources Africa desperately needs can be found in Africa itself by plugging these leakages. Corruption is one huge leakage.
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo once claimed that African leaders have stolen at least $140 billion (£95 billion) from their people since independence (London Independent, June 14, 2002. Web posted at www. independent.co.uk). At the Commonwealth Summit in Abuja, Nigeria on December 3, 2003, former British secretary of state for international development, Rt. Hon Lynda Chalker, revealed that 40 per cent of wealth created in Africa is invested outside the continent. Chalker said African economies would have fared better if the wealth created on the continent were retained within. "If you can get your kith and kin to bring the funds back and have it invested in infrastructure, the economies of African countries would be much better than what there are today," she said (This Day, Lagos, Dec 4, 2003).
Then in August 2004, an African Union report claimed that Africa loses an estimated $148 billion annually to corrupt practices, a figure which represents 25 percent of the continent's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Vanguard, Lagos, Aug 6, 2004. Web posted at www.allafrica.com).
If the African Union or African leaders were to cut corruption in half, they would find more than enough resources than the paltry $25 billion they receive in foreign aid from all sources.