Dambisa blames aid for Africa’s dysfunctionality

Dambisa blames aid for Africa’s dysfunctionality
Written by Mwala Kalaluka

AID has contributed to the dysfunctionality of many African states, economist and Dead Aid author Dambisa Moyo has observed. And former Bank of Zambia (BoZ) governor Dr Jacob Mwanza said Zambians admire Moyo over her decision
to tackle a topic that is not just politically sensitive but has very strong sensitive groups.

During the Economics Association of Zambia (EAZ)-organised discussion titled: Why Aid is not working and how there is another way for Africa, Moyo said aid had contributed to a system where African governments had abdicated their role in providing public goods.

"The problem with aid-culture is that the government does not have to provide that role because someone else is doing it," Moyo told a packed room at Lusaka's Taj Pamodzi Hotel.

"Our governments are needed to be at the forefront of delivering growth, setting the agenda. They have to take a leadership role. It is not good for African leaders to take a back seat."

Moyo said it was a pity that many African governments viewed aid money as permanent income and subsequently failed to craft better alternatives to financing development.

"This begs the question 'what is the responsibility of African governments?'" she said. "If it is true that African governments have abdicated their roles...then we should obviously stop voting for African governments, we should start voting for Sida [Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency]."

Moyo said she had learnt a lot over the last four or so months that she had been on tour following the publication of her book, Dead Aid.

Moyo said the type of aid she talked about in her book was not the humanitarian or non-governmental organisation type but the government-to-government aid, which she said comes with philosophical issues if it was heavily relied on.

She said one of the philosophical issues in the aid culture was the celebrity culture, where celebrities from the West usually attend G8 to push for more aid for the African continent.

"Celebrities talking as if they have been elected to talk for Africa, when they have not," Moyo said amid applause. "Africans should not tolerate this attitude."

Moyo said these celebrities used such meetings to perpetuate a negative perception of the African continent and she wondered how such a scenario would help Africa create a generation of young people who could move the mantle forward.

She said corruption was one of the ten reasons why aid had contributed to the dysfunctionality in the economy.

"We have a problem and frankly I believe that giving free money anywhere in the world means that it is actually vulnerable for the taking," she said.

Moyo said aid had contributed to civil strife in Africa.

"We need to make Aid finite. We have to turn-off the taps towards increasing dependency on other forms of financing," said Moyo.

Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) debt, aid and trade programme officer Humphrey Mulemba said not everything about aid was bad but that there was need to find the right blend of aid and ensure that it is administered properly.

University of Zambia (UNZA) development studies lecturer Dr Fred Mtesa said the greatest contribution that Moyo's book had made to scholarship was to challenge the conventional mindset of Zambians.

"We hear our leaders everyday praising the supposed virtues of aid and asking for more," Dr Mtesa said. "We Africans and Zambians in particular must begin to interpret these issues seriously. She has gone on to make very plausible prescriptions of how to move forward."

And Dr Mwanza said both nations giving and those receiving aid had strong bureaucratic entrenchments.

He said some countries giving aid had a lot of entrenched interest in aid to an extent that they made parallel diplomatic representations.

"You have put us on the map," Dr Mwanza told Moyo.