Betrayal of Africa’s Destitute

What is the real agenda behind bailing out despot countries which leads to the betrayal of Africa's poor and helpless by rich nations? Can anyone answer this question?

Gordon Browns’ fixation with wiping out the debt of despot regimes in Africa should be examined vociferously by every British taxpayer. . For that matter by the global community at large.

I can’t work out whether Brown is stupid, inept, as bent as those he is propping up or whether there is a more sinister motive. To be fair, the British Government isn’t the only government that makes such gestures just the target of my diatribe today.

King Mswati of Swaziland a tyrant if ever there was one (who has had his hand out on a regular basis) has recently spent over half a million pounds of debt relieving funds money provided by the hard working over taxed workers of the UK. You wouldn’t mind and indeed I expect you trust that the money was spent on improving the lot of Mswati’s people who are in desperate need of rudimentary healthcare plus fresh water and food. This isn’t a lot to ask for. The King however had more pressing needs spending your money on buying top of the range BMW’s for his 11 wives. Perhaps his wives will use the BMW’s to drive the sick and dying to hospital and to deliver water and food parcels to the poor.

Cheque at the ready, Gordon Brown extended the hand of friendship (most recently) to Uganda. What a pinnacle of global fiscal responsibility. Of course it would be just a coincidence that Brown’s 20million pound payment to Uganda to wipe out their debt (funded by the British tax payer) was closely followed by the Presidents purchase of a personal executive jet, which you guessed it cost 20million pounds. So much for his concern for his people!

There has to be an inquiry into the practice of handing millions of pounds/dollars to tyrants who have the most abysmal record when it comes to human rights. Who are known for their disgustingly lavish lifestyles and the mass destruction of the lives of millions of children from starvation and for the wont of basic needs.

Makes you wonder what the real game is doesn’t it?

There is a term for what is happening in Africa now, called neocolonialism. International Monetary Fund loans and loans by other countries do help out in the short-term, but are disastrous in the long-term. African countries are supposed to pay out huge sums of debt in return for these loans.

To even get these loans, African countries must follow rules set forth by the IMF. If they don't, then they receive no loan. So, African countries are caught in a catch 22. Either they change their rules to meet the demands of an financiary establishment, or their people suffer. In addition, even if they receive these funds, how can they pay them back.

Not to mention that supposedly "free" money comes with strings attached and forces countries to succumb to demands of those giving this money. It's a sad situation and reflects the culture of our world.

I think you are overlooking the fact that the real traitors here are the African leaders themselves who mishandle the money they are given. They, after all, are the ones with a direct responsibility to their people. That said, I'm not condoning first world nations giving these people money. I think they'd be better off giving the money to relief and aid groups with a proven track record in the region.

-koji K.

Originally posted by koji_K
I think you are overlooking the fact that the real traitors here are the African leaders themselves who mishandle the money they are given. They, after all, are the ones with a direct responsibility to their people. That said, I'm not condoning first world nations giving these people money. I think they'd be better off giving the money to relief and aid groups with a proven track record in the region.-koji K.

Exactly, are but why contiune to give money to these traitors when you know what they will do with it. If our governments continue to support this behaviour then they are just as guilty. If they don't know what happens to the money that is even worse in my book.

I agree with you on providing the money via reputable relief & aid agencies.

So are we supposed to do nothing? perhaps a better method of making sure the money is not misused is to have alot like a food drive. Canned goods, clothing, blankets, medicine etc. This would prevent its misuse somewhat unless they just outright sell the goods. Of course it is always easier to write a check than to give real aid. We could easily help them produce a better agricultural economy by showing them better methods of growing, providing seed etc. I am not a real fan of foreign aid for this reason anyway especially in the form of cash.

So are we supposed to do nothing? perhaps a better method of making sure the money is not misused is to have alot like a food drive. Canned goods, clothing, blankets, medicine etc.

I agree, sending money as a method of aid for African countries simply isn’t working, the same problems exist in Africa and on a whole are getting worse.
We need to tackle the issue from a new point of approach, as people have said before it’s the leaders of Africa that are the main problem

Of course it is always easier to write a check than to give real aid.

In my opinion this is one of the major reasons why current aid isn’t working as effective as it could, we in the world claim we are helping but we don’t want to do anything too radical, our leaders need to wake up and see that their fluffy cloud visions of throwing money at the problem simply won’t work.

We need to:
- Build infrastructure
- Set up the people of the countries with methods which mean they can sustain themselves.
- Pressure and possibly remove corrupt dictators from positions of power in Africa.
- Through the UN set up elections run and designed by the international community thus bypassing the corrupt and rigged elections that these so called African leaders use to get themselves into positions of power.

Africa puts the lie to Ghandi's statement about the worst self government being better than government imposed by others.

For my entire life I've had to listen to the anti-colonial palaver of the left, but except for the Belgians, it's hard to see where colonialists of Europe was not more humane and enlighted than the various corrupt dictators and thier cronies stealing from both sides.

12 Year-old orphan boys carrying AK-47's and commiting genocide in tribal fashion is not something money from the U.S., U.K., OR U.N. is going to fix.