Africa...when will we stop hearing about it?
Discussion
Is it just me or is anyone else fed up of seeing starving/ sick africans on the telly?
Its been going on for years, they are still reproducing at an alarming rate and from my experiance of Dar es Salaam I saw all the aid arrive and the blokes in the docks were sharing it between them. It was clearly marked "aid" and "USA" but the place is so corrupt no one was over seeing to make sure the people who need it get it.
So my view is we may as well not bother.
Its been going on for years, they are still reproducing at an alarming rate and from my experiance of Dar es Salaam I saw all the aid arrive and the blokes in the docks were sharing it between them. It was clearly marked "aid" and "USA" but the place is so corrupt no one was over seeing to make sure the people who need it get it.
So my view is we may as well not bother.
No matter how corrupt the Governments controlling African nations, it is still an important story that the World should be reminded of.
I would far rather we put our efforts into removing people like Mugabe than oil hunting in Iraq.
I would far rather we put our efforts into removing people like Mugabe than oil hunting in Iraq.
Edited by 10 Pence Short on Monday 29th December 11:41
The OP sort of has a point. We won't ever hear the end of it as the vastness of extreme poverty in Africa is unthinkable. I don't know how much money Africa as a whole receives from outside help every year (I'd imagine billions when you consider wiping off debt owed) but if losses were cut and money spent on technological advances for the human race we could be in a better position in terms of development as a first world.
ytrebil said:
Cooky said:
Yeah! lets nuke it...except SA they play decent cricket 
Your exception would be my main reason to nuke them! 
nottyash said:
Well the government isnt really bothered. Otherwise it would sort out pirates for a start. At least China has the balls to do something about them. The place is corrupt as hell and we cant help anyone there until we sort that out first.
China is only one of a number of countries sending ships to fend off pirates; they were not even the first.The problems in Africa will never be solved through aid. The problems stems from systemic corruption going back decades (centuries). The more money (or food which is effectively hard currency in many places) you put into Africa, the more corrupt people become in order to increase their 'share'. Africa has a wealth of natural resources, think minerals, gem stones, eco (and regular) tourism, farming etc. It has the potential to be one of the most affluent continents on earth if manged properly.
I don't find it that hard to just change the channel, in truth.
I think there is feck all the West can do to help at present; I imagine any intervention now would be held against us in the future, just as our past involvement is held against us now (even though many were better off under Colonial rule). Currently charity is just prolonging their dependency. Not a happy situation.
I think there is feck all the West can do to help at present; I imagine any intervention now would be held against us in the future, just as our past involvement is held against us now (even though many were better off under Colonial rule). Currently charity is just prolonging their dependency. Not a happy situation.
Yep, corruption is king.
I spent 2 years working on an oil/gas project for offshore Nigeria and the government threw every possible deterrent at us.
"Thou shalt use local labour and purchase all steel in Nigeria."
OK, but there are no local yards which can build what we need and no steel mill which can produce the type of steel we need.
The response? "Well, set one up".
The next suggestion was to use an intermediary company to import the line pipe (40,000 tonnes of it!) from one of the European or Korean suppliers - along with the required 15% markup on top of import duties, port duties, local taxes, national taxes etc. Guess who owned the intermediary? The guys brother.
Needless to say, the job didn't go ahead...
I spent 2 years working on an oil/gas project for offshore Nigeria and the government threw every possible deterrent at us.
"Thou shalt use local labour and purchase all steel in Nigeria."
OK, but there are no local yards which can build what we need and no steel mill which can produce the type of steel we need.
The response? "Well, set one up".
The next suggestion was to use an intermediary company to import the line pipe (40,000 tonnes of it!) from one of the European or Korean suppliers - along with the required 15% markup on top of import duties, port duties, local taxes, national taxes etc. Guess who owned the intermediary? The guys brother.
Needless to say, the job didn't go ahead...
grumbledoak said:
I don't find it that hard to just change the channel, in truth.
I think there is feck all the West can do to help at present; I imagine any intervention now would be held against us in the future, just as our past involvement is held against us now (even though many were better off under Colonial rule). Currently charity is just prolonging their dependency. Not a happy situation.
Well-targeted developmental charity which is controlled by African people themselves has the possibility to make significant positive change.I think there is feck all the West can do to help at present; I imagine any intervention now would be held against us in the future, just as our past involvement is held against us now (even though many were better off under Colonial rule). Currently charity is just prolonging their dependency. Not a happy situation.
edwardsje said:
Well-targeted developmental charity which is controlled by African people themselves has the possibility to make significant positive change.
I don't doubt that there are many charitees doing great work (presumably small enough to stay under the corruption 'radar'). But, large scale intervention by the West will not be welcome, and large scale food/medical aid is all too often misappropriated. It will take centuries for the small-scale stuff to work, while people like Mugabe can destroy a whole country in one lifetime. Jimbeaux said:
nottyash said:
Well the government isnt really bothered. Otherwise it would sort out pirates for a start. At least China has the balls to do something about them. The place is corrupt as hell and we cant help anyone there until we sort that out first.
China is only one of a number of countries sending ships to fend off pirates; they were not even the first.Gassing Station | The Pie & Piston Archive | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff