adminhas generated heat among African countries. According to Zambia, Ghana and Tanzania, this stand is an abuse of high order. In Tanzania, people in rural areas have mistaken the pro-gay edict to mean that Britain wants Africans to embark on homosexuality so as to be given money by donors!
Africans have themselves to blame for this high handed dealing by Britain. African countries have turned donors into a cure-all remedy for their problems, real and unreal.
Tired of Africa’s dependence and begging, they have opted for such stupid conditions to cause us thinking on how to emancipate ourselves by utilising our resources and brains for our good future.
A beggar is a beggar even if he is in a suit or is president. While I do not defend homosexuality, we need to trace the genesis of such unacceptable conditions.
When the donors forced us to change our economies for their benefit by embarking on Paris-New-York-London-made deceptive policies that ended up failing, they discovered that we can take any order from them. They thus decided to take us for a ride.
In Tanzania for example, under Structural Adjustment Programs, the government sold all public investment at a throw-away price, worsening the economy. Former president Benjamin Mkapa’s promise that Structural Adjustment Programs would create a modern economy was never realised in Tanzania.
Why should a country like Tanzania that digs gold in tons go cup in hand begging from the same guys it threw gold away to?
This is worse than homosexuality so to speak. This is the reason why donors are telling us to do stupid things. They know we are somewhat stupid. They want us to learn. But do we learn?
Begging and dependence has become the means of survival of most African countries.
Currently, Tanzania’s budget is 40 percent dependent on donor aid. Even when we think of unifying East Africa, we still sheepishly go to the donors to fund the venture, the very donors who are afraid that the unity will weaken their influence.
We have enough resources to realise the East African Community dream but our lopsided policies, short term thinking and corruption are our undoing.
If we do not put our act together, we have not seen anything yet from our so called “development partners.” The British government must respect Africa and avoid using human rights as a pretext to impose its values on Africa.
Why be vocal on pro-gay laws but be silent about other human rights such as worthy education, nutrition, democracy and economic wellbeing that the majority of Africans lack?
Africa ought to know that Western countries are looking for a pretext to stop supporting African countries due to the fact that they have their own burdens at home – the Eurozone crisis. Refer to economic turmoil going on in Greece and Iceland and soon or later Italy. Africa must urgently identify and address vices that curtail its development. Donors are not smarter than we think.
What has brought power to them is nothing but accountability. If Africa embarks on true accountability for whatever governments do, it won’t take time for her to forge ahead and do away with begging. By giving us stupid conditions, donors are telling us to use our brains instead of stomachs.
So who is to blame for such stupid conditions attached on donor money? Our governments that sit on huge resources which they abuse and use as personal property are to blame.
- The author is a Canada based Tanzania and author of Saa Ya Ukombozi. This article is reproduced from The African executive.
Online Reporter