Read this book
The book addressed a number of topics that I’ve been contemplating recently, particularly the broken international aid structure that seems more focused on dispersing money than evaluating the impact of its projects. One point that really resonated with me was how the vast amounts of foreign aid in Kenya provided a smoke screen as the government scammed over one billion dollars out of the treasury during the Anglo Leasing scandal. As long as a few basic services were still being delivered, the expectation was that regular Kenyans wouldn’t notice the money pouring out of the treasury for sham projects just to be re-routed into government officials’ pockets and slush funds for the next election.
Foreign donors’ inattention to corruption and its implicit racism emerged as another important theme by the end of the book. In addition to being condescending and not up to the standard that the West would expect of itself, “There could have been few more lurid illustrations of the fact that government corruption, far from being a detail of history, really does matter, than Kenya’s post-election crisis.” Yet this political, social, and financial distortion is exactly what donors support when they turn a blind eye to rampant malfeasance. I have a lot of respect for organizations like Acumen Fund that take a firm line against bribes and sweeteners to the short-term detriment of their goals but which hopefully send a message that taking advantage of customers, citizens, and investors is an unacceptable way of doing business.
While It’s Our Turn to Eat was jarring and upsetting, I was still energized by the way it clearly outlined why and how international aid isn’t working. It also reminded me that I need to read Dambisa Moyo’s Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa, another one of those books I can’t believe I haven’t picked up yet. But I suppose that’s what summer vacations are for – catching up on reading and preparing oneself for the year ahead.
Tags: Acumen Fund, Africa, Aid, Books, Business, Colonialism, Corruption, Development, Election, Government, International, Kenya, Kiva, Microfinance, Politics, Reading
July 31, 2010 at 4:17 pm |
[...] Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu’s Congo by Michela Wrong (who also wrote It’s Our Turn to Eat). You know, leisure reading. As I’m still recovering from my trip to New York, the sole [...]