SPIEGEL: Mr. Shikwati, the G8 summit at Gleneagles is about to beef up the development aid for Africa...ADDENDA.- Sobre aquest tema, són recomenables també els articles de Xavier Sala-i-Martin, Plan Marshell para Africa I i Plan Marshall para Africa II.
Shikwati: ... for God's sake, please just stop.
SPIEGEL: Stop? The industrialized nations of the West want to eliminate hunger and poverty.
Shikwati: Such intentions have been damaging our continent for the past 40 years. If the industrial nations really want to help the Africans, they should finally terminate this awful aid. The countries that have collected the most development aid are also the ones that are in the worst shape. Despite the billions that have poured in to Africa, the continent remains poor.
SPIEGEL: Do you have an explanation for this paradox?
Shikwati: Huge bureaucracies are financed (with the aid money), corruption and complacency are promoted, Africans are taught to be beggars and not to be independent. In addition, development aid weakens the local markets everywhere and dampens the spirit of entrepreneurship that we so desperately need. As absurd as it may sound: Development aid is one of the reasons for Africa's problems. If the West were to cancel these payments, normal Africans wouldn't even notice. Only the functionaries would be hard hit. Which is why they maintain that the world would stop turning without this development aid.
dimecres, 6 de juliol del 2005
"Per l’amor de Déu, atureu l’ajuda si us plau!"
Per a la majoria de periodistes, analistes i opinadors, si la cimera del G-8 no arriba a un acord per condonar el deute africà i ratificar el protocol de Kyoto serà un fracàs. Però, per què ha de ser un fracàs? Comprenc que per als gurús i replicadors de la correcció política ho sigui, però per a la millora real de les condicions de vida d’una gran part de la població mundial més aviat seria un èxit. Aquesta és, si més no, l’opinió que expressa l’economista africà James Shikwati en una entrevista que li fa el setmanari alemany "Der Spiegel" coincidint amb la cimera del G-8.
