DEAD AID DEBATE IN THE WORLD

Yes its very interesting to note read the article by Dambisa, actually
her patriotism doesn’t bother me at all, but the fact that she
proclaimed, is the most interesting thing in my mind, whether we agree
or not the cause of Aid in effectiveness in Africa has two dimensions
as follows

1.0 African perspective and commitment level for helping real
people in need

In this perspective, many African leaders seems to loose focus after
being elected in power by their electorates. They tends to forget
everything that they promised to full fill after being elected, they
some time use external global forces as an excuse to indulge themselves
in corruption and mis use of public resource. Their level of
accountability became minimal with the drastic increase of their
individual/selfish demands to support their private lives. How do you
expect a leader who assumed a certain position in public institution
soon became a millionaire within short time period? their actual
salaries plus all benefits are well known in advance by the public and
can not make some body to became a millionaire after being in power for
only short time of period. To me, it seems that , those kind of leaders
are effectively mis use aid and thus became as one aspect of the source
of the problem of Aid in effectiveness in Africa.

2.0 Some Self interest Donors requirement and Conditionality ones
provide aid/loan to African Countries

This aspect is real as some self interest donors from all scattered
categories in this world have their ambitious interest in African
wealth, they normaly give aid with a lot of condition taking the
advantage of starved people as a result of in appropriate technology and
techno -managerial capacity to extract their wealth in Africa. They
always influencing African countries policies that in turn regulates all
programmes and projects operation at all levels.

Some of us do remember the Structure Adjustment Programme ( SAP) in
1980s by IMF/WB where by the Tanzania Government was forced to sign the
agreement/Contract so as to qualify for a loan/aid kind of ( what ever
the name) . in this aspect you can realize the mostly negative impact of
this

The overall SAP exercise had dramatically increased the rates of
environmental degradation and deforestation in indebted Nations in
Africa as Governments strive hard to generate cash through collecting
Tax from all sources to pay off debts and interest as well. These
called aid/Loan whatever you may call them,have negative effect in
various sectors as well as directly to many people in African
especially poor countries like Tanzania

For example in Tanzania , the Debt repayment is six time more than
National health spending of which majority of people are suffering from
malaria, typhoid etc. Pregnant women do not access appropriate medical
treatment and later die abruptly. Hospitals have became breeding grounds
for disease.

The Overall, structural adjustment in Tanzania has increasing input
prices, promoting unsustainability through market liberalization, and
reducing expenditures on "reforestation." In addition, unrelated
sectoral policies have exacerbated degradation problems. The ending of
ujamaa, poor agricultural extension, poor enforcement of land clearing,
ambiguous land tenure, and inappropriate energy pricing have all reduced
incentives to conserve. Structural adjustment has also differentially
hurt the poorer farmers because pricing schemes have caused cultivation
of marginal lands. Thus, a positive feedback loop has been created
causing a downward spiral of economic and environmental well being.

We have been having a lots of economic reforms being in actual facts
initiated by some of self interest donors as their participation in
decision making rank is at almost 75%.

For instance Tanzania Privatization policies that led to sell of many
public institutions but little the people has been benefiting from, we
also did have Civil Service Reform Programme ( 1990s) from which , many
workers were laid off without appropriate compensation, the aim to was
to destabilize African Countries so that they continue to be dependent

We do also have Tanzania Public Service Reform Programe(1994), Local
Government Reform Programme( 1996). All these initiatives have donor
influence and they haven’t provide required results as expected to
date as people are still suffer.

You can also have a glance to our Tanzania National budget that
generally comprises at 40% of income from donor poured in our National
basket funds. This 40% does slaughter us without even say “ Bis
millah”

For instance , The Tanzania National budget preview for 2010/11
financial year as presented yesterday ( 1st July 2010) to the
Parliamentary committee for the Finance is set to raise to 11.1 trn/=
from the current 9.51trn/= with foreign aid funding nearly a half of
it, the situation like this has some implication in terms of decision
making process that mostly determine the future of the nation interims
of priorities, normally in this kind of donor dependency the country
would never and ever be free to decide their own priority issues based
on peoples wishes and demands. Suppose donor refuse to grant that nearly
half of the National budget , guess, what would happen? Some self
interest donors( NOT ALL) would take advantage on that.


In respect of the above narrated fact, its obviously that, Dambisa
analysis was very critical to the maximum as she was talking about
facts, but the problem with her is on the issues of running away from
solving African problems by condemning the existing institution
frameworks and its associated process. But all in all African problems
has been for a long time caused by selfish leaders as well as some self
interest donors ( NOT ALL) on equal basis and its upon us African people
to be alert and very creates to avoid the two changing agents interests
( Corrupt leaders and some of self interest Donors). Its better to have
commitment leaders and even few true donors for supporting our National
development for the benefit of the majority people in the grass root
level


Hamisi Seif Simba
Programme Coordinator for CSOs Programme
CSOs - Strengthening the Capacity for Environmental Civil Societies
WWF Tanzania Programme Office
Regent Estate 350 Mikocheni
P O Box 63117 Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
t: +255 (0)22 2775346
f: +255 (0)22 2775535
m:+255 (0)718801337
Email:HSimba@wwftz.org

WWF - for a living planet