Does Foreign Aid to Africans Work?

[Dragvania]

I don't think it works. Why, because food and money alone doesn't teach them how To make it on their own and the ones that do learn things move to a better place. African land is nothing but wastes compared to the world (yeah there are nice spots here and there but look at north and South America and tell me Africa could ever be that prosperous land wise.) money starts at the foundation and if your foundation is poor then your income will also be poor.

You can only be as strong as your weakest link.

[Nelson R Mandela]

I don't think it works. Why, because food and money alone doesn't teach them how To make it on their own and the ones that do learn things move to a better place. African land is nothing but wastes compared to the world (yeah there are nice spots here and there but look at north and South America and tell me Africa could ever be that prosperous land wise.) money starts at the foundation and if your foundation is poor then your income will also be poor.

You can only be as strong as your weakest link.

I'm sorry, but you are really uninformed...

[The Sotoan Union]

Was the rest of the world property of another nation, sometimes not even 60 years ago?

Many parts were. Imperialism is bad, I hate it, but a country can't just blame it's problems on what happened decades ago.

It can blame quite a few of its problems on it. Some of the issues that have been repeated in this thread such as corruption and debt largely trace back to colonialism.

And when the poster said the rest of the world was doing fine on its own, I'm sure he meant developed nations and not the countries that were colonized and have problems with corruption and debt as well as other things.

[Luziyca]

It really depends. Humanitarian aid has done wonders for Africa and the developing world in general but neocolonialism masqueraded as aid (e.g. France's relationship with Françafrique) has not.

Essentially this. It has done a lot of benefits, but at the same time, there are some drawbacks.

[United States Kingdom]

I don't think it works. Why, because food and money alone doesn't teach them how To make it on their own and the ones that do learn things move to a better place. African land is nothing but wastes compared to the world (yeah there are nice spots here and there but look at north and South America and tell me Africa could ever be that prosperous land wise.) money starts at the foundation and if your foundation is poor then your income will also be poor.

You can only be as strong as your weakest link.

You area ware that the DRC has trillions worth in mineral resources, Somalia(or Somaliland cant remember) has hundreds of billions worth in oil,and South Africa is rich in minerals such as uranium.

You really don't know anything about Africa do you?

[United States Kingdom]

Was the rest of the world property of another nation, sometimes not even 60 years ago?

Many parts were. Imperialism is bad, I hate it, but a country can't just blame it's problems on what happened decades ago.

Your right, we shouldn't say that everything that has happened in Africa is the Europeans fault. Nevertheless, we can actually blame a lot of the problems, such as tribalism, etc. Additionally, a lot of European governments built infastructure in Africa with the aim of extracting those minerals that were in Africa to Europe. The Rwandan Genocide is also arguably part of Europe's fault, due to the tribalism that they installed in Africa.

[Parhe]

Many parts were. Imperialism is bad, I hate it, but a country can't just blame it's problems on what happened decades ago.

It can blame quite a few of its problems on it. Some of the issues that have been repeated in this thread such as corruption and debt largely trace back to colonialism.

And when the poster said the rest of the world was doing fine on its own, I'm sure he meant developed nations and not the countries that were colonized and have problems with corruption and debt as well as other things.

I agree imperialism is The root of many problems. I blame it and Imperial Japan for the division of Korea (and as a result the suffering of the North Koreans), lose of cultural aspects, destruction of historic sites, and some of the racism in Korea.

Corruption and debt, though, aren't exclusive to non developed or former colonial nations. Countries like Italy, Portugal, and Spain are also noted as being corrupt by many sources. Furthermore, there are many wealthy nations that didn't employ imperialism to become wealthy, such as Canada, Chile, New Zealand, Switzerland, Poland, Estonia, Croatia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, the UAE, Qatar, and the Bahamas, among others. Developed nations are hardly a club of former empires.

[Parhe]

Many parts were. Imperialism is bad, I hate it, but a country can't just blame it's problems on what happened decades ago.

Your right, we shouldn't say that everything that has happened in Africa is the Europeans fault. Nevertheless, we can actually blame a lot of the problems, such as tribalism, etc. Additionally, a lot of European governments built infastructure in Africa with the aim of extracting those minerals that were in Africa to Europe. The Rwandan Genocide is also arguably part of Europe's fault, due to the tribalism that they installed in Africa.

Tribalism is a large issue. I wish the countries had just divided following independence to prevent such issues. Maybe they would of had people with desires for power not been in charge. I do blame many of the former empires for propping up such leaders.

[Nelson R Mandela]

I don't think it works. Why, because food and money alone doesn't teach them how To make it on their own and the ones that do learn things move to a better place. African land is nothing but wastes compared to the world (yeah there are nice spots here and there but look at north and South America and tell me Africa could ever be that prosperous land wise.) money starts at the foundation and if your foundation is poor then your income will also be poor.

You can only be as strong as your weakest link.

You area ware that the DRC has trillions worth in mineral resources, Somalia(or Somaliland cant remember) has hundreds of billions worth in oil,and South Africa is rich in minerals such as uranium.

You really don't know anything about Africa do you?

It's funny they say North America and south America have the more richer lands, while those two continents are one of the many who seek to Africa to make deals with its resources.

[Nelson R Mandela]

Many parts were. Imperialism is bad, I hate it, but a country can't just blame it's problems on what happened decades ago.

Your right, we shouldn't say that everything that has happened in Africa is the Europeans fault. Nevertheless, we can actually blame a lot of the problems, such as tribalism, etc. Additionally, a lot of European governments built infastructure in Africa with the aim of extracting those minerals that were in Africa to Europe. The Rwandan Genocide is also arguably part of Europe's fault, due to the tribalism that they installed in Africa.

In regards to tribalism it's the Rwandans who mostly struggle with tribal stability. Tribalism is not really an issue in a lot of African countries today.

[The Sotoan Union]

It can blame quite a few of its problems on it. Some of the issues that have been repeated in this thread such as corruption and debt largely trace back to colonialism.

And when the poster said the rest of the world was doing fine on its own, I'm sure he meant developed nations and not the countries that were colonized and have problems with corruption and debt as well as other things.

I agree imperialism is The root of many problems. I blame it and Imperial Japan for the division of Korea (and as a result the suffering of the North Koreans), lose of cultural aspects, destruction of historic sites, and some of the racism in Korea.

Corruption and debt, though, aren't exclusive to non developed or former colonial nations. Countries like Italy, Portugal, and Spain are also noted as being corrupt by many sources. Furthermore, there are many wealthy nations that didn't employ imperialism to become wealthy, such as Canada, Chile, New Zealand, Switzerland, Poland, Estonia, Croatia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, the UAE, Qatar, and the Bahamas, among others. Developed nations are hardly a club of former empires.

I'm not saying all corruption and debt comes from colonialism. I'm saying colonialism is responsible for the corruption and debt in many African countries. It's complicated. Many countries have problems from the actions of their leaders immediately following independence for example, so it's sometimes indirectly related. But it is largely responsible.

I wasn't saying all developed nations had empires either.

[Liberty and Linguistics]

Eh, to a lower extent than some might want to believe. This isn't exclusive to any continent. Foreign aid to poorer, corrupt countries, honestly solves a few things, but much of that money is either wasted on fancy, failed state projects, or it goes straight into the money of greedy government officials, who happen to be more corrupt than Rod Blagojevich.

Ideally, the governments of African countries need to take responsibility, liberalize the markets, root out corruption, and pave a path for opportunity. Botswana has done this, and even Nigeria is beginning to. Let's hope the rest of Sub Sahara Africa will follow suit.

[United States Kingdom]

Your right, we shouldn't say that everything that has happened in Africa is the Europeans fault. Nevertheless, we can actually blame a lot of the problems, such as tribalism, etc. Additionally, a lot of European governments built infastructure in Africa with the aim of extracting those minerals that were in Africa to Europe. The Rwandan Genocide is also arguably part of Europe's fault, due to the tribalism that they installed in Africa.

Tribalism is a large issue. I wish the countries had just divided following independence to prevent such issues. Maybe they would of had people with desires for power not been in charge. I do blame many of the former empires for propping up such leaders.

Dividing wouldn't solve the issue. Standing united and working together will solve the issue.

You area ware that the DRC has trillions worth in mineral resources, Somalia(or Somaliland cant remember) has hundreds of billions worth in oil,and South Africa is rich in minerals such as uranium.

You really don't know anything about Africa do you?

It's funny they say North America and south America have the more richer lands, while those two continents are one of the many who seek to Africa to make deals with its resources.

I know right. It is laughable.

Your right, we shouldn't say that everything that has happened in Africa is the Europeans fault. Nevertheless, we can actually blame a lot of the problems, such as tribalism, etc. Additionally, a lot of European governments built infastructure in Africa with the aim of extracting those minerals that were in Africa to Europe. The Rwandan Genocide is also arguably part of Europe's fault, due to the tribalism that they installed in Africa.

In regards to tribalism it's the Rwandans who mostly struggle with tribal stability. Tribalism is not really an issue in a lot of African countries today.

Yeah, the Rwandans certainly do, but the Europeans installed the tribal system in Rwanda that ultimately lead to what occurred. In regards to your second statement, it is certainly an issue. Somalia's government, while having made remarkable progress in fighting Al-Shabaab, and becoming more stable has a government that has been accussed of favoring various tribes in Somalia. The 2008 violence in Kenya, one of the largest economies in Africa, was ultimately because the politicians manipulated the tribal system that was there.

[United States Kingdom]

Eh, to a lower extent than some might want to believe. This isn't exclusive to any continent. Foreign aid to poorer, corrupt countries, honestly solves a few things, but much of that money is either wasted on fancy, failed state projects, or it goes straight into the money of greedy government officials, who happen to be more corrupt than Rod Blagojevich.

Ideally, the governments of African countries need to take responsibility, liberalize the markets, root out corruption, and pave a path for opportunity. Botswana has done this, and even Nigeria is beginning to. Let's hope the rest of Sub Sahara Africa will follow suit.

Really? Nigeria has started to do this?

[Nelson R Mandela]

Tribalism is a large issue. I wish the countries had just divided following independence to prevent such issues. Maybe they would of had people with desires for power not been in charge. I do blame many of the former empires for propping up such leaders.

Dividing wouldn't solve the issue. Standing united and working together will solve the issue.

It's funny they say North America and south America have the more richer lands, while those two continents are one of the many who seek to Africa to make deals with its resources.

I know right. It is laughable.

In regards to tribalism it's the Rwandans who mostly struggle with tribal stability. Tribalism is not really an issue in a lot of African countries today.

Yeah, the Rwandans certainly do, but the Europeans installed the tribal system in Rwanda that ultimately lead to what occurred. In regards to your second statement, it is certainly an issue. Somalia's government, while having made remarkable progress in fighting Al-Shabaab, and becoming more stable has a government that has been accussed of favoring various tribes in Somalia. The 2008 violence in Kenya, one of the largest economies in Africa, was ultimately because the politicians manipulated the tribal system that was there.

Yeah, I'm gonna have to read up more on it.

[The Conez Imperium]

Overall I think it does more good than harm.

[Nelson R Mandela]

Overall I think it does more good than harm.

For the leaders to say the least.

[The Conez Imperium]

Overall I think it does more good than harm.

For the leaders to say the least.

But some foreign aid does do good. Sure its not the most efficient thing; some stereotypical African dictator is going to pocket the money but for the women and children in the Dadaab refugee center, I'm sure its better than the 'wilderness' albeit Dadaab is overflowing.

[Daburuetchi]

Thomas Sankara once said "Just look into your plates when you eat: you see the improved corn, rice or millet this is imperialism" The fact of the matter is western aid isn't designed to "work" it's a trap. As economist John Perry states in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CofEbxtIxI foreign aid from imperialist countries is really about robbing nation's ability to self determination so that they remain under imperialist spheres of influence. We saw in the collapse of Yugoslavia and Romania for instance, what proceeded their collapse was a massive injection of foriegn capital which they ultimately could not pay off. Foreign aid to African countries only really benefit ultimately benefit only a small section of the population since usually this aid is being used not to improve the general welfare of the people but to serve imperialism's interest. The USAID for instance in the 80s maintained a "a close working relationship with the CIA, and Agency officers often operated abroad under USAID cover" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_St ... _criticism). So really to expect foriegn aid from the west to be of benefit to the masses of Africa is naive since the west has a vested interest in keeping Africa under neocolonialist rule. Even if the aid does do some good such as in the case with vaccinations the fact of the matter is if the countries of Africa weren't being exploited by multinational corporations and they wouldn't need aid in the first place.

[Socialist Tera]

Thomas Sankara once said "Just look into your plates when you eat: you see the improved corn, rice or millet this is imperialism" The fact of the matter is western aid isn't designed to "work" it's a trap. As economist John Perry states in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CofEbxtIxI foreign aid from imperialist countries is really about robbing nation's ability to self determination so that they remain under imperialist spheres of influence. We saw in the collapse of Yugoslavia and Romania for instance, what proceeded their collapse was a massive injection of foriegn capital which they ultimately could not pay off. Foreign aid to African countries only really benefit ultimately benefit only a small section of the population since usually this aid is being used not to improve the general welfare of the people but to serve imperialism's interest. The USAID for instance in the 80s maintained a "a close working relationship with the CIA, and Agency officers often operated abroad under USAID cover" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_St ... _criticism). So really to expect foriegn aid from the west to be of benefit to the masses of Africa is naive since the west has a vested interest in keeping Africa under neocolonialist rule. Even if the aid does do some good such as in the case with vaccinations the fact of the matter is if the countries of Africa weren't being exploited by multinational corporations and they wouldn't need aid in the first place.

+1 Very good post.

[Arumdaum]

There is a perception among many that Africa has not progressed or developed since the independence of its countries.

This is not true, and aid has helped African countries to increase their life expectancies, literacy rates, and the amount of infrastructure on the continent. Perhaps economic advancement has not been as rapid as many have hoped, but economic development was often hard to achieve when much of the continent was embroiled in wars (including civil wars) until recently.

Foreign aid was instrumental to South Korea's industrialization and modernization. Perhaps it can argued, though, that South Korea was helped by the fact that it had to perform well economically due to the existence of a rival government to the north, and was not particularly torn apart by ethnic issues caused by colonialism present in many parts of Africa.

However, the ROK's success shows that foreign aid, when successfully utilized, can really help to develop and improve a country.

[United States Kingdom]

Thomas Sankara once said "Just look into your plates when you eat: you see the improved corn, rice or millet this is imperialism" The fact of the matter is western aid isn't designed to "work" it's a trap. As economist John Perry states in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CofEbxtIxI foreign aid from imperialist countries is really about robbing nation's ability to self determination so that they remain under imperialist spheres of influence. We saw in the collapse of Yugoslavia and Romania for instance, what proceeded their collapse was a massive injection of foriegn capital which they ultimately could not pay off. Foreign aid to African countries only really benefit ultimately benefit only a small section of the population since usually this aid is being used not to improve the general welfare of the people but to serve imperialism's interest. The USAID for instance in the 80s maintained a "a close working relationship with the CIA, and Agency officers often operated abroad under USAID cover" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_St ... _criticism). So really to expect foriegn aid from the west to be of benefit to the masses of Africa is naive since the west has a vested interest in keeping Africa under neocolonialist rule. Even if the aid does do some good such as in the case with vaccinations the fact of the matter is if the countries of Africa weren't being exploited by multinational corporations and they wouldn't need aid in the first place.

[Washington Resistance Army]

Short answer: Yes and no.

[Nelson R Mandela]

Thomas Sankara once said "Just look into your plates when you eat: you see the improved corn, rice or millet this is imperialism" The fact of the matter is western aid isn't designed to "work" it's a trap. As economist John Perry states in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CofEbxtIxI foreign aid from imperialist countries is really about robbing nation's ability to self determination so that they remain under imperialist spheres of influence. We saw in the collapse of Yugoslavia and Romania for instance, what proceeded their collapse was a massive injection of foriegn capital which they ultimately could not pay off. Foreign aid to African countries only really benefit ultimately benefit only a small section of the population since usually this aid is being used not to improve the general welfare of the people but to serve imperialism's interest. The USAID for instance in the 80s maintained a "a close working relationship with the CIA, and Agency officers often operated abroad under USAID cover" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_St ... _criticism). So really to expect foriegn aid from the west to be of benefit to the masses of Africa is naive since the west has a vested interest in keeping Africa under neocolonialist rule. Even if the aid does do some good such as in the case with vaccinations the fact of the matter is if the countries of Africa weren't being exploited by multinational corporations and they wouldn't need aid in the first place.

I think you have won NSG, good comrade. Very well said and put.

[The Mediterranean Republic]

It could possibly work if corrupt governments didn't just use the funds for themselves. The money and resources need to get to the people.