More Thoughts on Live 8

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 good article in the Scotsman by Gethin Chamberlain. I was surprised to see this attitude from Bob Geldof.

"canceling the debts of 14 nations is a worthy gesture, but it will only be effective if linked to strict anti-corruption measures. Geldof says that Africa is not mired in corruption, but the evidence is against him. Doubling aid sounds good, but there is no evidence that it works. Hundreds of billions of pounds have been poured into Africa and it is poorer now than it has ever been. The money is mopped up by leaders who use it to place more distance between themselves and their own people. If they know they can rely on western cash to prop themselves up, why worry about making themselves accountable to the people?"

But then see for yourself when you visit the Live 8 website. Try to find any mention of corruption on their site. Which is funny since they provide a link to the Commission for Africa 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 London Fog, this story by Aidan Hartley which echoes my point about corruption.

"Today, though, there is one man who is doing more than the Lord himself to buy a Mercedes-Benz for the leading creeps of the world. That man is, of course, Bob Geldof, the spur to our global conscience.

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."