some excerpts
...The assessment of development of Sub-Saharan Africa is highly ideological. Large parts of the development community take for granted the adage that: "We are exploiting poor Africans, and we deny them all trade opportunities. We must forgive all of their debt, because the loans were forced upon them. A significant increase in financial development aid is needed, because more money means more development."
This is music to the ears of African kleptocrats. ...
The same effect is produced by the many who insist that Africa's prospects for development are being destroyed by unfair international trade relationships. Criticism of these relationships is undoubtedly justified. But why is trade flourishing, under identical conditions, in many developing countries outside Africa? ...
The most successful trading partners among the poorer nations export industrial goods, not agricultural products. China initially brought technically uncomplicated devices onto the world market, but with time its products became increasingly sophisticated. Why doesn't this work in Africa? Has anyone ever seen an iron, a bicycle or a hair clip with "Made in Togo" or "Made in Uganda" printed on it?...
ah, but part of the reason is that it's cheaper to import it from China..
Economic development, in particular, suffers from a lack of thoroughness, planning and reliability, and from the fact that African family clans typically demand a share of the economic success of their more successful members, instead of allowing them to enjoy the fruits of their labor....
Sub-Saharan Africa hardly even manages to take advantage of its wealth of mineral resources to promote the wellbeing of its citizens. On the contrary: They have proven to be a curse for the majority of Africans. The enormous profits are used to pay for wars and fill the bank accounts of the upper class. According to Transparency International, the president of oil-producing country Gabon, Omar Bongo, and members of his family own 39 pieces of real estate in the best of locations in Paris and on the Côte d'Azur....
corruption is Not limited to Africa, of course...
The massive international aid machine, made up of countless agencies and organizations, is too far removed from reality. It rotates on its own axis and circles the African continent like some spaceship filled with industrious and committed experts who are constantly dreaming up strategies, holding conferences, forging consensuses, publishing studies, formulating agendas, running the numbers on their macroeconomic models and generating tons of paper. The question of who actually reads these documents is better left unasked. This spaceship functions so perfectly that it could easily exist without Africa.
If we want Africa to embark on a more effective course of development, it must assume more responsibility. This is the core message of the "Bonn Appeal." We are no longer clueless as we face the problems of development. China pointed the way out of poverty by developing economically on its own strength, not by extending its hand for outside assistance. That would only be acceptable in times of acute need, when humanitarian aid is appropriate....
which is why the greedy Chinese may be better in the long run for Africa than aid
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