Page 68 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 5

BUSINESS

funds, outright theft by govern- strategic access to infiltrate the sure of liberty. I wonder if they
ment officials and administrative hinterlands, contracts, strategic think that by playing along with
costs i.e. aid industry’s salaries international support, on-the- what the west wants that when
and overheads and allowances. ground intelligence to be able the time comes for the west to
Such that by the end of it, very to track and influence Afrika’s put in effect its real agenda that
little entered/enters the desti- growth, mineral exports etc. they won’t try to devour them
nation country or even made/ With the help of a few greedy in- and us anyway.
makes it to the ground. dividuals, the failed aid policy re-
mained a strategic advantage to So, Afrika remains under neo-co-
60 years later, Afrika is still play- the ‘aiders’. That’s why it hasn’t lonial and its own home-grown
ing catch up and no one seems stopped. oppression from men and wom-
to be able to figure out why. The en who on the whole (there are
World Bank and IMF insisted As Afrikans continued to gain a few exceptions) have decided
on certain programmatic and access to western knowledge to do what’s best for themselves
policy frameworks being set up and thinking via the west’s learn- and not the people they say they
in Afrika as terms for receiving ing institutions and local syllabi, serve. But, why do Afrikans con-
aid – this was done, but failed or they did little or nothing to influ- tinue to put up with selfish lead-
made things worse. NGOs came ence change. The reasons giv- ers who make decisions that are
into Afrika with pre-conceived en, oftentimes, were a lack of obviously causing more harm
ideas about what aid means to resources or political ‘goodwill’. than good?
the continent – their initiatives In a continent as resource-rich • Just last year Nigerian
were not successful. Donor as Afrika, those excuses did little Senators faced backlash for a
countries tried giving support di- to bolster Afrika’s confidence in decision to purchase luxury ve-
rectly to countries, in exchange itself, as the rhetoric of Afrika’s hicles for their principal officers.
for certain leverage. These ini- ineptitude continued. The OAU It was said that they planned to
tiatives did not bear enduring (later the AU) and the heads of spend around US$15.3 million
positive fruit for the developing state and government had no for this when more than 50% of
countries. It seemed everyone real answers because they de- their people are said to be living
had an opinion about what was pended (and still do) on external in abject poverty.
best for Afrika and because they funding to define and run their • The American govern-
had the money, they called the programs. They remain largely ment gave the Kenyan govern-
shots. They knew things were ineffective because they can’t ment notice of intent to pull out
not going as expected, that cor- even say no to unnecessary of funding of Kenya’s blood bank
rupt people were ‘eating’ the western influence in Afrika, lest program within ten years, saying
money that coming in but they funding be withdrawn or what that the government was now
didn’t stop giving because they happened to Gaddafi, Sankara well able to run it on its own.
were getting some hidden ben- or Lumumba happen to them. When this time period lapsed,
efits within the countries they Ironic on a continent that shed in 2019 the country’s blood sup-
chose to support. Military bases, blood in order to access a mea- ply ran low because it had not

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