From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Fri May 14 2010 - 10:08:55 EDT
Forget Africa! We've got enough to do
By PETER WORTHINGTON, Toronto Sun
Friday, May 14, 2010
...................When Eritrea won its independence from Ethiopia in 1992,
its president, Isaias Afewerki, told the heads of state at a meeting of the
African Union that their main problems were "corruption and tribalism"
(racism), and that there'd be no progress until they cleaned up their act
and stopped blaming European colonizers and the state of Israel for all
problems.
This outraged his audience, but the truth hurts.....................
In one of its more unusual moves, the Globe and Mail(itls) last week turned
over the editing of the paper to "entertainers" Bob Geldof and Bono, in
order to make Canadians more aware of the continent of Africa.
In the words of its editor-in-chief, John Stackhouse, "Africa is the key to
this century," and he felt the edition that Geldof and Bono were responsible
for, "should surprise, delight, startle (and) illuminate" - a bit of
hyperbole from a star-struck editor.
In subsequent editions, Africa remained centre stage to remind readers that
Canada doesn't pay enough attention to that continent and may even be
neglecting it.
"Africa sets its eyes on a brighter future, but Canada's vision is as murky
as ever," proclaimed a front-page headline under the logo: "The African
Century."
The Globe's(itls) fixation on Africa as the country to watch in the 21st
century, is mindful of Sir Wilfrid Laurier's view, expressed in a Canadian
Club speech in 1904 that "Canada shall fill the 20th Century" - a phrase
which evolved into his most celebrated non-quote: "The 20th century belongs
to Canada."
Well, the 20th century didn't quite turn out that way, and despite the
Globe's(itls) assurances, it's doubtful that the 21st century will belong to
Africa.
It's true, as the Globe (and Geldof and Bono) point out, that the resources
and mineral riches of Africa seem boundless.
The Congo alone bursts with potential wealth - an estimated $24 trillion in
mineral resources, Africa's largest and the world's second most voluminous
river and a rain forest second only to the Amazon's.
All that's holding Africa back ... put bluntly but not inaccurately ... is
its people, and regimes that mostly have had independence for close to 50
years, yet conditions in many countries are worse than they were under
colonial rule.
When Eritrea won its independence from Ethiopia in 1992, its president,
Isaias Afewerki, told the heads of state at a meeting of the African Union
that their main problems were "corruption and tribalism" (racism), and that
there'd be no progress until they cleaned up their act and stopped blaming
European colonizers and the state of Israel for all problems.
This outraged his audience, but the truth hurts.
By putting Africa on the back burner, so to speak, and focusing aid programs
on needy developing countries in its own hemisphere, Canada seems on the
right track. There's money to be made in Africa, so let the private sector
exploit it - and thus help Canadian companies and the target countries.
If Canadian companies have some $30 billion invested in Africa - good for
them and Africa. But the government should be wary of aid programs to the
continent, since it can be proven time and time again, that foreign aid more
often then not entrenches tyrants, does not get to the people for which it
is intended, and breeds corruption.
This was apparent in Angola, where aid was misused and abused.
Also during the Ethiopian famine, food aid went to the warring armies. Aid
was denied to deprived people if they were on the wrong side of the war.
UN peacekeeping missions comprised of African soldiers have been virtually
useless in curbing violence in Darfur and Congo.
The horror of Zimbabwe's plunge into bankruptcy, tyranny and desperation is
matched by neighboring countries afraid to challenge the despotism of Robert
Mugabe.
AIDS, superstitions, infant and maternal mortality, are another factor
entirely - and perhaps the easiest to correct.
Rather than being a beacon of hope and progress in the 21st century, Africa
more closely resembles a basket case.
Yet some, including the G&M(itls), want us to open more embassies, give more
aid, get more involved in Africa (because the Chinese are).
Nonsense.
Canada should lean towards helping democratic interests in the western
hemisphere, and encourage African self-reliance through enterprise by
private businesses.
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