More on Zimbabwe

Posted on July 19, 2007
Filed Under Public Policy |

"The price freeze has sparked a wave of panic buying that has emptied Zimbabwean shops of basic commodities, and critics say the formal economy is tottering on the brink of total collapse."

It would appear that we are well past the "brink of total collapse"…

The lack of concern for the social welfare of his people is evident in his rejection of 47,400 tons of food aid the U.S. has offered. While I unquestionably support my government’s humanitarian gesture I continue to wish that regional African governments would step up and fix the problem themselves because if I can’t take one more international benefit concert put on by rich white people to "save Africa from itself"… and don’t just take my word for it, read Ozodinma Iweala’s op-ed in the WaPo on this very subject:

There is no African, myself included, who does not appreciate the help of the wider world, but we do question whether aid is genuine or given in the spirit of affirming one’s cultural superiority. My mood is dampened every time I attend a benefit whose host runs through a litany of African disasters before presenting a (usually) wealthy, white person, who often proceeds to list the things he or she has done for the poor, starving Africans. Every time a well-meaning college student speaks of villagers dancing because they were so grateful for her help, I cringe. Every time a Hollywood director shoots a film about Africa that features a Western protagonist, I shake my head — because Africans, real people though we may be, are used as props in the West’s fantasy of itself. And not only do such depictions tend to ignore the West’s prominent role in creating many of the unfortunate situations on the continent, they also ignore the incredible work Africans have done and continue to do to fix those problems.

William Easterly wrote an equally compelling op-ed in the same publication last Feb, the one graph that jumped out at me should be laminated in a wallet (or perhaps Birkin bag?) sized card for all well meaning celebrities and diplomats to carry with them.

"The West’s focus on sensational tragedies obscures the achievements of people such as Patrick Awuah and Robert Keter, who are succeeding even against tremendous odds. Economic development in Africa will depend — as it has elsewhere and throughout the history of the modern world — on the success of private-sector entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs and African political reformers. It will not depend on the activities of patronizing, bureaucratic, unaccountable and poorly informed outsiders."

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