The notion that aid can alleviate systemic poverty and has done so is a myth. Millions in Africa are poorer today because of aid: misery and poverty have not ended but have increased. Aid has been, and continues to be, an unmitigated political, economic and humanitarian disaster for most parts of the developing world.

Foreign aid props up corrupt governments – providing them with freely usable cash. These corrupt governments interfere with the rule of law, the establishment of transparent civil institutions and the protection of civil liberties, making both domestic and foreign investment in poor countries unattractive. Greater opacity and fewer investments reduce economic growth, which leads to fewer job opportunities and increasing poverty levels. In response to growing poverty, donors give more aid, which continues the downward spiral of poverty.

The mistake the West made was giving something for nothing. The secret of China’s success is that its foray into Africa is all business. The West sent aid to Africa and ultimately did not care about the outcome; this created a coterie of elites and, because the vast majority of people were excluded from wealth, political instability has ensued. China, on the other hand, sends cash to Africa and demands returns. With returns Africans get jobs, get roads, get food, making Africans better off…..It is the economy that matters.

Dambisa Moyo

(via The Telegraph)

(Source: telegraph.co.uk)

juliaaarrrgh-deactivated2011041 asked: Hello! I was wondering which African authors can you recommend? I feel as though I have been too western/anglosphere centric in my reading, and would like to acquaint myself with the literary traditions of different countries. I know of and have read quite a lot of the white South African writers (Gordimer, Coetzee, Paton et al), and I am currently reading "Anthills of the Savannah" by Achebe, having completed the Things Fall Apart trilogy. I am also familiar with some of Adichie's work. Do you have any other recommendations of other authors? Thankyou!

Hey there!!

First I would recommend you visit this website! You’ll find book reviews, poetry, interviews, essays, memoirs,etc all related to L’Afrique!!

Here are some young African authors you may be interested in (the links take you to their interviews) :

Abdellah Taia

Moroccos’ first openly homosexual writer and intellectual figure living in Paris and writing in French. He is the author of several novels, including the controversial prose, The Salvation Army, (translated into English in America), which received the 2009 French Voices prize in America.
Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani

Nwaubani was born in Enugu and grew up in Umuahia, Abia State. Her debut novel, I Do Not Come to You by Chance, won the 2010 Commonwealth Prize for Best First Book (Arican Region). She currently works with NEXT, newspaper, Lagos, as copy editor, as well as editor of its fashion pullout, Ellan.
Brian Chikwava

Brian Chikwava’s short story “Seventh Street Alchemy” won the 2004 Caine Prize for African Writing, making him the first Zimbabwean to be so honoured. He has been a Charles Pick fellow at the University of East Anglia and lives in London.
Mamle Kabu

In 2009, Mamle Kabu became the second Ghanaian to be a finalist for the Caine Prize. She is a writer of Ghanaian and German descent, but was born and raised in Ghana and spent ten years in the United Kingdom during which she studied at Cambridge University. She returned to Ghana in 1992 where she has since been resident.

I’m sure you are familiar with Dambisa Moyo and Ousmane Sembene, but I feel like they should be mentioned anyways because I enjoy their work!

If anyone else has any African authors that they think should be mentioned, leave me a message :D

blackacrylic:

Dambisa Moyo: How The West Was Lost

‘There is no point in going around to Africa and other poor places around the world and encouraging people to get educated if within your own country you have decided it is not a priority. It is absolutely a priority.’ - Dambisa Moyo

I LOVE HER.

The cynical answer is: because it distracts attention from the trade barriers they have erected in order to protect employment in the West. These trade barriers cost Africa an estimated 500 billion dollars every year. That’s ten times the amount Africa is given in development aid. And because they secretly don’t believe that Africa is ever going to pull it together, they feel sorry for the Africans. So they buy themselves a conscience.

Dambisa Moyo on why western countries keep giving if they know it doesn’t help.

Most Brits would be irritated if Michael Jackson started offering advice on how to resolve the credit crisis. Americans would be put out if Amy Winehouse went to tell them how to end the housing crisis. I don’t see why Africans shouldn’t be perturbed for the same reasons…

Dambisa Moyo discussing rock stars and Hollywood celebrities who have appointed themselves advocates of ending African poverty.

Poverty Porn - any type of media which exploits the poor’s condition in order to generate sympathy for selling newspapers or increasing charitable donations or support for a given cause.
You will find none of that here :)

africaworldnow@gmail.com