Now that the concerts are finished and the hype dies down hopefully we will start to see some realistic views on Africa and aid. This is a
I was surprised to see this attitude from Bob Geldof.
. Try to find any mention of corruption on their site. Which is funny since they provide a link to the
where you can download their report. In their 464 page report you will find corruption mentioned 126 times.
Which brings us to Paul Martin. It will be interesting to see how he reacts to the Live 8 demands. Tony Blair and George Bush know good governance is essential for aid to work. Will we see the height of hypocrisy with our Prime Minister, the leader of the most corrupt party in Canadian history, lecturing African leaders on corruption and the need for good governance?
Update at 8pm. HT
Africa's leaders cannot wait for the G8 leaders - hectored by rock star Bob and his Live8 concerts into bracelet-wearing submission - to double aid and forgive the continent's debts. They know that such acts of generosity will finance their future purchases of very swish, customized Mercedes-Benz cars, while 315 million poor Africans stay without shoes and Western taxpayers get by with Hondas. This is the way it goes with the WaBenzi, a Swahili term for the Big Men of Africa.
After joyriding their way through six Marshall Plans worth of aid, Africa is poorer today than 25 years ago; and now the WaBenzi want more."
And Mr. Hartley has this damning take on the NGO's pushing for more aid.
"Charities are ideological museums stuffed with socialists and anti-globalisation activists. They loathe private enterprise. I sometimes wonder if they would prefer to see Africans stay poor so that aid workers could carry on doing good works for them."