It's Bono vs Moyo on Aid and Africa

Posted by: Steve Hamm on March 27

When I was getting ready to go to work yesterday morning I heard a report on NPR that $4 billion in foreign aid money had been sliced from Obama’s proposed budget. My reaction was: Geez, that’s a shame. But that was before I met Dambisa Moyo, a Zambian economist and former Goldman Sachs banker who is the author of the just-published book Dead Aid: Why Aid is Not Working and How There is a Better Way for Africa.

Moyo spoke about her book at a Templeton Book Forum at NYU last night. She was interviewed by NYU prof William Easterly, another critic of aid. Moyo’s argument is that after 60 years and $1 trillion in aid to Africa, it’s clear that financial assistance to governments (as opposed to money for emergency relief and for NGOs) doesn’t work. Most of it goes to corruption and paying for armies, and the dependency on aid means African leaders don’t feel pressure to reform their governments or economies.

She makes a radical proposal: Western donors should put African leaders on notice that their aid spigot will be cut off in five years. That, she believes, will force them to act. Only with the clock ticking will they have the incentive to move.

Moyo’s argument is a blast not only against the aid establishment; it’s also a critique of rock star Bono, who has guilted Western governments into increasing their aid to Africa dramatically over the past half decade. Moyo said at the forum that she has several problems with Bono and other entertainers speaking up for Africa. In addition to the fact that she thinks they’re misguided, they paint Africa and Africans as victims rather than countries and people with capabilities and promise, and she thinks they’re usurp the role of African leaders—who should rightfully speak for Africa. “It’s like having an International musician like Amy Winehouse commenting on the US debt crisis rather than Obama. It makes no sense,” she said.

At a dinner after the event, I asked Moyo what she thinks of the Gates foundation. Sure enough, she’s a critic. She says the foundation’s work to improve health care services in Africa removes the responsibility for what should be a basic government service from the continent’s leaders. So, while the Gates health programs help poor citizens, they make it easier for leaders to not answer to their people.

Moyo is meeting with government leaders in Europe and aid outfits in Washington, D.C. in the coming weeks. She says she hopes her book will lead to frank and open debate that can change the course of Africa. This is a rare opportunity. Hopefully, people in power will not only listen but will re-examine their strategies. A lot of the rest of the developing world has developed. Now it’s Africa’s turn.

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