Foreign development aid started flowing into Africa more than 40 years ago, especially in the early 1960's when a significant number of African countries became independent from colonialism. This was a time of high hopes that technical and capital assistance would bring about development of African countries and reduce poverty. Despite the flow of financial resources and aid over the years in many African countries since the 1960's, the socioeconomic and development situation of these countries has continued to deteriorate at an alarming rate.
Africa, particularly Sub Saharan Africa, continues to wallow in seemingly perpetual states of misery, poverty, crises, hunger, and chaos despite massive foreign aid being poured in. Paradoxically, most of the countries that are basket cases of lethargy and poverty, including Tanzania, have been recipients of massive amounts of foreign aid since their independences.
Self-reliance and poverty reduction are the ultimate goals of foreign aid. Foreign aid is supposed to influence economic growth and promote development. It is supposed to make a difference in the lives of people and increase their self-reliance. But in Africa, foreign aid has apparently failed to promote development and influence economic growth despite the fact that rich countries provide over $ 54 billion annually to poor countries to support poverty reduction and other development related activities. The amount of foreign aid to most countries of Sub Saharan Africa has been the largest in the world compared to the size of their economies. For example, in 1994-95, foreign aid averaged nearly 8% of the GNP of African countries, compared to 0.7% for Asia, 1.3% for Middle East and North Africa, and 0.4% for Latin America. In 1996, aid constituted 10-15% of GNP in many African countries.
Foreign aid has done more harm to Africa than we care to admit. It has led to a situation where Africa has failed to set its own pace and direction of development free of external interference. Today, Africa's development plans are drawn thousands of miles away in the corridors of IMF and World Bank. What is sad is that the IMF and World Bank "experts†who draw these development plans are people completely out of touch with the local African reality.
On the other hand, empirical evidence shows that former less developed countries, such as Chile, South Korea, Japan and Nicaragua, that have received very little aid compared to Africa, have produced superior results in terms of development and economic growth.
In Nicaragua, which had virtually all of its aid cut off since the collapse of the Somoza regime in 1979, things improved noticeably during the 1980's in terms of reducing illiteracy, infant mortality rates and general improvement in the social welfare. Empirical evidences also show that aid does not influence economic growth, nor does it improve infant mortality rates, primary school enrollments or life expectancy in developing countries.
In the context of the above discussion and of what is actually happening in Sub Saharan Africa, I argue that foreign aid has never worked as intended by donors, and it will never work in Africa and in other developing countries. In fact, given the empirical evidence that there has never been a significant correlation between aid and development, I strongly call for aid termination in Sub Saharan Africa and other poor countries because it perpetuates a culture of dependence, breeds corruption and kleptocracy, and stunts local development initiatives.
Aid is a waste of time and money; its results are fundamentally bad; far from being increased, it should be stopped forthwith before more damage is done. There is no more a priori justification for calling it foreign aid than foreign hindrance for African development.
Gabla Afortude, High School Teacher in New York City (originally from Ghana)
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ven, 24 Jul 2009 - 21:38
Foreign development aid started flowing into Africa more than 40 years ago, especially in the early 1960's when a significant number of African countries became independent from colonialism. This was a time of high hopes that technical and capital assistance would bring about development of African countries and reduce poverty. Despite the flow of financial resources and aid over the years in many African countries since the 1960's, the socioeconomic and development situation of these countries has continued to deteriorate at an alarming rate.
Africa, particularly Sub Saharan Africa, continues to wallow in seemingly perpetual states of misery, poverty, crises, hunger, and chaos despite massive foreign aid being poured in. Paradoxically, most of the countries that are basket cases of lethargy and poverty, including Tanzania, have been recipients of massive amounts of foreign aid since their independences.
Self-reliance and poverty reduction are the ultimate goals of foreign aid. Foreign aid is supposed to influence economic growth and promote development. It is supposed to make a difference in the lives of people and increase their self-reliance. But in Africa, foreign aid has apparently failed to promote development and influence economic growth despite the fact that rich countries provide over $ 54 billion annually to poor countries to support poverty reduction and other development related activities. The amount of foreign aid to most countries of Sub Saharan Africa has been the largest in the world compared to the size of their economies. For example, in 1994-95, foreign aid averaged nearly 8% of the GNP of African countries, compared to 0.7% for Asia, 1.3% for Middle East and North Africa, and 0.4% for Latin America. In 1996, aid constituted 10-15% of GNP in many African countries.
Foreign aid has done more harm to Africa than we care to admit. It has led to a situation where Africa has failed to set its own pace and direction of development free of external interference. Today, Africa's development plans are drawn thousands of miles away in the corridors of IMF and World Bank. What is sad is that the IMF and World Bank "experts†who draw these development plans are people completely out of touch with the local African reality.
On the other hand, empirical evidence shows that former less developed countries, such as Chile, South Korea, Japan and Nicaragua, that have received very little aid compared to Africa, have produced superior results in terms of development and economic growth.
In Nicaragua, which had virtually all of its aid cut off since the collapse of the Somoza regime in 1979, things improved noticeably during the 1980's in terms of reducing illiteracy, infant mortality rates and general improvement in the social welfare. Empirical evidences also show that aid does not influence economic growth, nor does it improve infant mortality rates, primary school enrollments or life expectancy in developing countries.
In the context of the above discussion and of what is actually happening in Sub Saharan Africa, I argue that foreign aid has never worked as intended by donors, and it will never work in Africa and in other developing countries. In fact, given the empirical evidence that there has never been a significant correlation between aid and development, I strongly call for aid termination in Sub Saharan Africa and other poor countries because it perpetuates a culture of dependence, breeds corruption and kleptocracy, and stunts local development initiatives.
Aid is a waste of time and money; its results are fundamentally bad; far from being increased, it should be stopped forthwith before more damage is done. There is no more a priori justification for calling it foreign aid than foreign hindrance for African development.
Gabla Afortude, High School Teacher in New York City (originally from Ghana)