Well, I see they've just announced at the G8 that they'll be cancelling 100% of African debt and increasing aid - In real terms that means there's gonna be a few dictators getting a lot richer and the general population will still carry water for miles, dress in rags, starve and die of things that could have been cured with meds that cost just a few dollars - G8 are obviously very well intentioned but they're also bloody naive!

Not really naive, but politically correct.

Cancelling the debt isn´t a bad idea, increasing aid is bad if it´s done in the tradionanal way=we send them experts and equipment that does all the work but does nothing for teaching self suffiency.

David Thoreux´s book "Dark Star Safari" has a lot of good points on the aid issue, one of them being that aid is worthless if it doesn´t strive to make the population self sufficient.

As long as the people get free food relief from the outside world without having to demand efficiency, fairness, opportunity, and honesty from their governments, there will never be an overall demand from the locals for political change. Much of the world's generosity simply perpetuates the status quo.

LONDON, June 11 — The world’s wealthiest nations formally agreed Saturday to cancel at least $40 billion of debt owed to international agencies by the world’s poorest lands, most of them in Africa.

Saturday’s deal was expected to ease the 18 poorest countries’ annual debt burden by $1.5 billion. They are Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guyana, Honduras, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. All must take anti-corruption measures.

What, no relief for Bob and Grace?

Some other groups noted that a further 44 countries were still burdened by debt to international lenders. Britain is also pressing for a doubling of international aid to Africa, but it is not clear whether that goal will be reached before the Gleneagles summit.

Significantly, a statement by the G-8 finance ministers did not formally exclude other initiatives to fight poverty, including a tax on airline tickets proposed by France and Germany and a British proposal to raise money for poverty relief on international financial markets.

Yes, good idea, put a tax on airline tickets.

Both of those ideas are opposed by the United States, but their inclusion seemed to be part of a trade-off to secure agreement on the cancellation of debt.

The United States agreed to pay up to $1.75 billion in compensation to international lenders over the next 10 years, while Britain agreed to pay up to $960 million. Other G-8 countries made their own, undisclosed pledges; more pledges are expected from other members of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund later this year.

That should read....The United States' Taxpayers will pay up to $1.75 billion in compensation to international lenders over the next 10 years...

Regards,

Terry

quote:

United States' Taxpayers will pay

I always get a laugh out of the USA paying, like it is some mystery fund of excess money just lying around! Gosh those politicians can sure spend someone else's money.

Like when the gov't has to pay up in some lawsuit...exactly who's money are they paying up with? And do they really care? And who gets fired or gets a pay cut?

Like Janet Reno on Waco..."I accept full rsponsibility.." Just what responsibility would that be?

Remember, we gotta keep those big fun parties a happen' for Uncle Bob, Grace, Nelson M.. . . .

Aid, which is administered top down, has been shown for decades to be a complete failure.

Small loans given to individuals to enable them to start businesses have proven successful in contrast. The loan can be US$100 to purchase a sewing machine - just enough so that a willing person can get a small enterprise going. Get enough of those going, and economic change occurs.

Or we could transfer the collective wealth of the G8 to Africa, and it would all be pissed away within 5 years.

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will feed himself for a lifetime"

Any questions??

Build a man a fire and keep him warm for a night.


Set a man on fire and keep him warm for the rest of miserable life!

Instead of debt relief why doesn't the US use that 1.75 billion dollars to build a satellite and drone intelligence system in Africa and pay for building a couple of airbases and stationing some of our combat aircraft in Africa.

Every time we catch one of those "elected dictators" out in the open, we call in an air strike on his ass. Money well spent and would go a long way toward relieving poverty in Africa.

Regards,

Terry

quote:

Originally posted by Pathfinder:
"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will feed himself for a lifetime"

Any questions??

The way I heard it was "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat all day and drink beer"

If the monies are well spent it could obviously make a big difference to the countries concerned.....and in fairness some African countries are trying s lot harder to improve their lot that others, but as others have pointed out here the chances are that a large part of the money will simply evaporate into swiss bank accounts....... But that's Africa bwana....

agreed.

This will change very little i doubt. From what i have read one of the conditions to these debts being wiped out is that the countries involved have to root out corruption. The problem with Africa is that the corruption is deep rooted and starts at the highest level.

How can they expect leaders to root out corruption, when most of them are the most proficient at it.

I am no expert and only know what I see in the news but it appears to me that the relief of debt along with the increasing of aid and the feeding of people due to political famines is cyclic. After the second repetition we have nobody to blame but ourselves. The true corruption is probably our arrogance that we are best suited to "fix" other peoples problems!