NN42, June 2009
A Safari Towards Aid Effectiveness?
Does Aid Reduce Governance in Africa Where Peace and ?Democracy? is in Danger?
By Yumiko Yokozeki, UNICEF Nairobi
Email: yyokozeki@unicef.orgKeywords
Aid; Governance; Africa; Moyo; Collier
Summary
This article asks questions about the impact that aid has on governance in Africa where peace and democracy are in danger. It draws on the experience from Kenya.
While trying to draft this short article, I was saddened by a tragic loss of our colleague in Pakistan. She was killed in a suicide bombing in Peshawar in the early hours of 9 June. Twenty other people were killed and many more injured in the incident. She was so sincere, warm and committed and we still have difficulties in accepting the fact that she had to perish so suddenly. It seemed absolutely unfair. We then shivered realizing that it could have been any one of us. This also made us think of hundreds more people losing their lives every day in conflicts and security incidents, and the risk of development built on fragile peace and stability. In other words this aid debate is also to be found in the lives and deaths of real people.
Moyo (2008) asserts that aid decreases self-sufficiency and governance. This widely-read and debated book asserts that foreign aid is not the answer to African development using the evidence from economic analysis. The main argument of the book is that there is a better alternative. Instead of relying on aid money, African governments should seek for investment from the international markets. This would force the governments to be transparent and prudent. She also stresses the importance and effectiveness of micro-finance at the community levels. However, this assertion leaves us wondering whether the most vulnerable would still be included in the agenda. In many countries, market-oriented policies have made the poorest more miserable. Even if AID is proven to be ineffective in governance, does this mean that withdrawal of AID would automatically promote democracy?
Paul Collier, once Moyo?s teacher, published a near-sequel to his earlier well-acclaimed work Bottom Billion (2007). In Wars, Guns and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places (2009), Collier says ?if democracy means little more than elections, it is damaging to the reform process.? His view has strong confirmation from the violence before, during and after the elections in countries in the region, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and more recently in Madagascar. Every time there is an election, we hold our breath and mentally prepare ourselves for the worst. His assertion that there should be more support for police and judiciary process makes sense. But, where can we start?
The post election violence in early 2008 in Kenya took many of us here in Kenya surprise. It was the worst scenario anticipated. Wrong (2009) concludes her book on a detailed account of corruption in Kenya with the description of post-election violence she witnessed. This very skilled writer convincingly reminds us that the dire and ultimate consequence of corruption is the violence and ethnic killing triggered by the election.
Where is the answer? Should AID be stopped altogether and replaced by other alternatives as Moyo suggests? Should there be more AID for the rule of law as Collier suggests? How could we, in the Kenya situation, assure the safety and protection of the people still in the IDP (internally displaced people) camps and ensue they go back to their own multi-ethnic communities?
After the post-election conflict, primary school pupils in Nairobi were interviewed in TV news and they urged the government and opposition to meet so that they could resume schooling. They were clear, articulate and convincing - much more so than many politicians combined. Their plea was sincere. They wished the schools reopened for them and their classmates. We have seen the educational institutions harness friendship among young people with different religion and ethnic backgrounds. Young people might be more accommodating towards new ideas and they might be more idealistic. In Madagascar, in the midst of violence, a group of young people started a peace education initiative. Kenya?s Ministry of Education has invested a great deal of time and resources on completing peace education modules. It might take time, but it might be worthwhile trying. After all, more than half of the population in the continent of Africa are made up of young people. We should invest in them our future and our hopes.
All views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author herself and do not necessarily reflect UNICEF?s organisational views.
References
Collier, P. (2009) Wars, Guns and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places, Bodley Head, London
Moyo, D. (2008) Dead Aid: Why Aid is Not Working and How There is Another Way for Africa, Allen Lane, London
Wrong, M. (2009) It's Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a Kenyan Whistle Blower, Fourth Estate, London.
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