Do you think the west should stop giving aid to African countries?

Question

I have always been aware that all the aid that we Africans receive from the west are not used for what they are intended, however after watching Living With Corruption this morning I realise the problem is much worse than I thought. Can you imagine a situation where the government officials in African countries who receive good wages are syphoning all the aid from charities and western governments to foreign accounts sometimes to the tune of $5billion? Even worse, things are so bad that to get aid, some people are having to bribe the government officials to get wut is theirs, children have to bribe their teachers in public schools to get their papers marked and so on and so on. The west have been in my opinion very generous in their donations and cancelling a huge proportion of our debts, however they don't really have a good understanding of the way the continent in general operates, hell I lived in Nigeria for the first 16 years of my life and I was unaware of the runnings.

Answer 1

I think perhaps aid should be rethought - but it shouldn't be entirely stopped. Certainly it is true that many African governments syphon off aid to further their own gains, but without the aid the people of the country would be totally and utterly helpless. Many countries in Africa, though they could be quite astonishingly rich (Zimbabwe, Congo, Zaire) are not because they have failed governments. 10 years ago Zimbabwe was the breadbasket of Africa, now there is barely any food left at all. If aid stopped then potentially millions would starve.

If you asked some Africans which they would prefer - having aid, but having to bribe people for it or not having aid but 'living' justly and fairly then I don't think many are going to opt for the second and nobly starve.

Certainly it's a bad situation, but I don't think stopping aid is the solution, simply because you hit the ordinary people far too hard.

Answer 2

My dear,

The west is the one that decides how aid is given.
Let me please just state some facts below:
1.Never forget that Africa was divided into European colonies, and Africa was totally exploited by the colonists. They took what the could and killed anyone who tried to stop them.
2. The borders in Africa were decided upon by European countries, in order to serve their own interests. They did not take into account that they were putting rival tribes in the same country, and tribes that were friendly to eachother, were divided by borders.
3. When African countries gained independence, of course, the people that grabbed the power were not "nice" people. This is always the case. The West knew that this would happen. After being governed for hundreds of years, it is most probable that when the governers leave, instability comes into the picture.
4. When African countries gained independence, the countries were offered loans from the World Bank. That was in the 60's. They still have not finished paying off these loans because of the high interests.
5. Africa contains valuable resources that the West wants and needs in order to remain rich.
So a deal is done. The West does not care at all about the African people. The West is only interested in obtaining precious resources. So they pay a few trinkets to the corrupt elite, and take what they want.
The corrupt West and your corrupt leaders are having a ball, and meantime your people continue to suffer.
Africa is one of the richest continents on earth. It is such a shame that the West endorses the corrupt leadership in Africa, as long as they get what they want.

Another point to mention is that the AID industry is a profit industry. It is not meant to arrive to the needy, it is meant to be pocketed along the way.

Answer 3

No, the system just needs to change from the ground up. Instead of giving it to the corrupt country officials. Distribute it ourselves through programs like Red Cross, peace corps... or the US Military. This will ensure that a majority of the money is getting to the correct people.

However I agree that we give far too much to other countries and we should spend more money right here at home, for our veterans, elderly, children... Once our problems at home are solved then lets try and help out the other nations.

Answer 4

Yes, I think that the aid should stop. At the least, we should stop sending any kind of money.

I'm not one of these people who is against all foreign aid, but I think that in the case of Africa it actually hurts more than it helps. As you say, aid is often intercepted by corrupt governments who use it to keep themselves in power. This aid also denies the Africans the opportunity to learn how to solve their own problems and control their own destiny.

I believe that it the short term, stopping aid would be painful for Africa. But in the long run, they'll be much better off without our charity.

Answer 5

I agree that aid to COUNTRIES AND GOVERNMENTS should stop because it's not helping the people who need help.

If someone wants to help the people they need to actually go there and drill wells, build schools and hospitals and staff them. Take seeds and tools and TEACH people how to create a sustainable healthy future.

Answer 6

Yes it should be stopped. But Europe should allow food import with no customs, also.