Jennifer Brea writes:
Africa is a continent of despair and desperation. Here, eight year-olds toting AK-47s massacre whole villages and eccentric dictators feast on the organs of the opposition, believing it’ll boost their mojo. Tsetse flies nibble on the eyelids of starving children who sport distended bellies like it’s their birthright, not to mention the fact that by the time you finish reading this article, another six Africans will die from malaria, five from AIDS, and seventeen from poverty and hunger. Also, the wildlife is beautiful and the people like to dance and sing.
That’s Africa, and it’s in desperate need of our help. Luckily, a few enlightened megastars from America and Europe have come to save it.
Curiously, not all the natives are grateful...
We can continue the endless cycle of need and dependency, or you can create jobs, develop indigenous capacity, and build a sustainable future. Aid not only crowds out local entrepreneurship, it makes governments lazy and deprives countries of the incentive to build effective institutions...Free money builds white elephants and bloated bureaucracies...
