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01/09/2005:

"'Africa has little to show for past Marshall Plans'"

Richard Dowden argues that we need to understand the people and politics of this continent, before we attempt to save it

Gordon Brown wants a Marshall Plan to save Africa, just as America 'saved' Europe at the end of the Second World War. His speech last Thursday at the National Gallery in Edinburgh was full of missionary zeal to end poverty and disease.

It's good that he cares, but he has failed to ask why Africa is poor. He seems to think a lack of aid is the cause. The sad truth is that Africa has had a Marshall Plan several times in the past 50 years and has little to show for it. Until we understand why, Brown could be raising expectations for Africa yet again - and making things worse by failing to deliver.

The analogy between Europe in 1945 and Africa today is false. At the end of the war, Europe had peace and a highly skilled population. The job was rebuilding - all that was missing was finance. The US provided $13 billion over three-and-a-half years (about $76bn at today's prices) to buy American food and goods to rebuild Europe. If distributed equally, every European would have received $49, or $293 at today's prices.

Africa has had about a trillion dollars in aid in the past 50 years, roughly $5,000 for every African living if distributed at today's prices. If aid were the solution to Africa's problems, it would be a rich continent by now.

Africa has been made poor by unstable politics. The ruling class has failed to create viable states that provide health, education and economic opportunity. As a result, literacy rates are low and civil services are weak. Until the politics is right, huge amounts of aid would make things worse.
Full Article: guardian.co.uk

WHOSE 'ruling class'? What a bunch of revisionist history.
Africa has never been flooded with aid. Aid has trickled in until there is some disaster or other, then 'emergency aid' comes to apply band-aids. But even further, this business of 'we' needing to understand, 'we' whose job it is to save...with NO acknowledgement of imperialism and slavery, scoffing at any notion of reparations...this hullaballoo in England about 'saving Africa' has nothing whatsoever to do with Africa, not really, but rather some fantastic imperialist illusion of 'Africa', the stage on which they enact their worst impulses, or their 'best', as THEY dictate, as THEY decide. There can be no good outcome to any of this. It is simply not possible. They have the power equation backwards. They think to 'save' Africa? It is Africa that will have to save them.