Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa
by Dambisa Moyo
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Book Summary Information
Author: Dambisa MoyoForeword: Niall Ferguson
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-03-17
ISBN: 0374139563
Number of pages: 208
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Book Reviews of Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa
Book Review: A clear and strong African voice in the noisy developpement debate.
Summary: 4 Stars
DEAD AID from Dambisa MOYO.
I have to say that reading the lady's book has been truly refreshing.
I've not been a regular book reader these last years, but this is about to change with Amazone and the likes. The reason why I bought the book is that Dambisa Moyo has been given the opportunity to explain and defend here views and she did it brillantly in a number of TV shows. I particularly liked when she talked about the Bono trend of rock stars recycling into developpement experts. The idea that no one would expect the government of France to seek economical advises from Michael Jackson (may he rest in peace) or from Manu Dibango is obvious.
These are serious matters. And I think she did a good job of trying to remind it. As for the people criticizing here, some have said that here book would have been scrutinized harder if it wasn't for her beeing African. This is BS. She has been asked all the though questions and she answered all of them.
As for my appreciation of the book. I totaly subscribe to the impact of AID on government accountability and corruption. I consider this to be a huge "issue". Now I don't beleave in a benevolant dictator. I find it too risky to rely on any one person for such a huge work. I'd rather start an Obama like work of empowering the people even if it may be a longer route to a better future. The second interessting point is the impact of curroption and random law enforcement on investments, especially for local investment. I think we need to stress the fact that FDI are not the only ones to need a clean, secured and fair bussiness environment. The lack of it is currently the main reason why people are leaving their own country and are not coming back.
Regarding "micro finance" as a solution for developpement, as far as I'm concerned, this can only be a transitory solution to help people survive. States needs to provide a framework for real strong and cheap "credit" to all this creative africans. Regular banks failed to do their job because the govs failed to enforce such a basic pre-requisit. We need to take back our governments. Trying to work around the failing ones is not an option. And for me "micro finance" is one such workaround, that can be found everywhere in the system. NGO's taking charge of poverty matters are probably the worst effect of this workaround tendancy. Even basic infrastructure are sponsored by all sort of "goodwill" initiatives. This is nonsense.
I also subcribe to Dambisa's view on Chinese presence on the continent and again it all boils down to what kind of partner we African are willing to be? Juniors accepting gifts and signing anything submited to us or the main proposition force behind?
People are quick to point to the human and cultural diversity on the continent as a problem, my view is that maybe except for North Africa, the continent is more homogenous humanly and culturaly than most of the big economical integrated groups that I know. We need to take bold steps to undo the colonial bondaries. It's far more costly to keep them than to get rid of them. We should start working seriously toward that goal.
We need to be creative in finding other options to get rid of corrupting aid. From the book the best option we have so far is to convince donors of the sometimes nocivity of their goodwill. This is not enough, we need to design an autonomous alternative to that. We all need to understand it doesn't have to be that way. Our future belongs to us first. We will need to be even more creative in the design of strategies that will help take back our govs.
Overall this is a good reading for any proud african, but also to anyboby willing to have a different spot light on the issue of developpement.
We may have lost the opportunity to plant the trees twenty years ago, but we can still plant plenty of them now.
Cheers,
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