Comments on: Chicken and Egg

By: Curzon

Curzon — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 01:58:56 +0000

Ah, but Hamilton, Ethiopia is a very unique case, or at least the worst offender, as documented by Kaplan in his first book.

By: Hamilton

Hamilton — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 01:38:35 +0000

I somehow suspect it is a combination of aid wrecking domestic markets, disease, tribalism, and massive corruption. If African leaders stopped the wholesale looting of their countries there would be more money to build economies. I seem to recall someone posting that 90 or more cents of every dollar that was sent to Eithopia during their famine in the 1980’s was intercepted by the government and never made it to the people.

By: jomama

jomama — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 19:02:23 +0000

Ain’t rocket science.

And Shikwati’s basic premise applies to all to anyone, anywhere.

But, as the man said, the institutional vested interests will last as long
as there’s money behind them. If they eliminated hunger, they would
wither and die.

By: Curzon

Curzon — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 02:07:49 +0000

We’ve talked about Shikwati at CA before, such as here.

By: subadei

subadei — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 23:58:52 +0000

Shikwati makes one hell of an argument to support the latter charge.

“Why do we get these mountains of clothes? No one is freezing here. Instead, our tailors lose their livlihoods. ”

The same could be said regarding African agriculture. A huge influx of foreign, cheap maize puts indigenous farmers out of business and feeds the mass poverty rather than staunching it. This dynamic combined with the incredible amount of bureaucratic and governmental corruption creates an endless cycle.

Of course the idea of simply shutting off the faucet is virtual political suicide. Imagine Bono’s response to President or Prime Minister X declaration that Afri-Charity was no more.