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.

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.

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