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RULER UPLIFTED
The NYT’s Nicholas Kristof:
It’s worth acknowledging that Mr. Bush, and conservatives generally, have in many ways been great for the developing world. At their best, they bring a healthy dose of hands-on practicality to their efforts.
“Worth acknowledging”? “In many ways”? “At their best”? Edit the grudging qualifiers and waffle and a clearer view emerges: “Mr. Bush and conservatives have been great for the developing world. They bring hands-on practicality.” Kristof continues:
The liberal approach to helping the poor is sometimes to sponsor a U.N. conference and give ringing speeches calling for changed laws and more international assistance ...
Liberals may also put too much faith in aid itself. What Africa needs most desperately are things it can itself provide: good governance, a firmer neighborhood response to genocide in Sudan, and a collective nudging of Robert Mugabe into retirement.
Yes. A good nudging ought to do it. In other African news, Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo wants “upliftment”:
“For Africa (to fight poverty) it will require not only the debt forgiveness for which we have been vigorously campaigning but also a massive inflow of finance through repatriation of corruption-tainted funds in foreign banks, the fulfillment of commitments made by our development partners, new funds through investments ... and our collective political will to undertake our own part for our upliftment.”
The king and prime minister of Swaziland are way ahead on the whole upliftment deal:
Swaziland’s MPs demanded the resignation of their prime minister yesterday for plundering government development funds to buy a £29 million private jet for King Mswati, absolute monarch of the impoverished African mountain kingdom.
Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini defended his decision, saying a personal jet was cheaper than “costly air charter” and essential for security “in these troubled times of international terrorism”.
(Via upliftment correspondent Alan R.M. Jones)
UPDATE. African aid works—if accompanied by privatisation, market reforms, and a multiparty electoral system.
It may be time to teach actual economics in schools.
If you buy a whoopie cushion, it’s because you value the whoopie cushion more than the money; and the seller values the money more than the whoopie cushion. You both have a profit. Indeed, that’s why the trade happened. Voluntary trades are like that - both sides profit.
An unnoticed side effect is that both of your standards of living have gone up, since you both had a profit.
The reason you want economic activity is not to keep ne’er-do-wells out of trouble, but so that the standard of living goes up. The more voluntary trades there are, the higher the standard of living.
For this you need freedom, property rights and enforceable contracts.
Basically a people becomes prosperous by doing things for themselves, for each other.
It’s the division of labor, which is what makes it possible to disagree about value. The specialist turns out stuff he values less than his customers, which is what makes for voluntary transactions. He trades apples for day care, or whatever, and comes out ahead.
Against that, we can send free food and drive out of business any local farmers.
The wealth is in the people, not in the money.
You’ll never see that in schools, it’s too accurate.
Posted by Aging Gamer on 2005 07 06 at 01:42 PM • permalinkI was particularly impressed with the comment of Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo: “... but also a massive inflow of finance through repatriation of corruption-tainted funds in foreign banks…”
Will he have to cojones to say, “Look here, General Abacha, where’s that twenty billion bucks you’ve got squirreled away? And you, General Babangida, how about coughing up five billion?” After all, charity begins at home.
Somehow the West are held responsible for Africa’s inability to repay its debt. No one forced them to take loans out, and I doubt any of the banks holding these debts are thrilled by the prospect of cancelling them.
So, what happens when the G8 agree to forgive the African debt? Are we obligated to loan them more money just because we have it and they don’t and somehow that’s not fair? Can they actually make it on their without being on the Western dole?
Perhaps the answer does lie with the King Mswati III, who appears to have more money than sense and certainly a better lifestyle than the people he rules.
Without any collateral or other constraints to force these nations to reform economically, providing is akin to digging a hole in your backyard, throwing money in, pissing on it, and filling the hole back up. That’s about all the use we’ll get from it.
Swaziland! What a fuckin’ joke ‘eh? They have one of the world’s worst AIDS epidemics and they spend twice the annual health budget on a private jet for their so-called king! Yeah let’s give them debt relief.
The President of Uganda did exactly the same thing when he was given debt relief a few years back!!!Nudge with a bayonet, maybe. Nudge pretty hard, just to make sure he notices.
Why don’t we ask (force) the Swiss to empty out all the accounts these festooned fantasticos opened with the last few rounds of aid? Judging by the e-mails (all in CAPITAL LETTERS) I keep getting from the bereaved families of deposed dictators, there has to be a fair amount of money salted away, just waiting for someone to furnish a bank account number to expedite the transfer.
That private plane purchase for the King of Swaziland did not go through, however he’s still living it up.
See the BBC News
Swaziland’s King Mswati III has bought 10 new BMW series 5 cars for his wives.
Swaziland’s media reports that it has cost him $820,000.Two months ago, Africa’s only remaining absolute monarch was criticised for buying himself a $500,000 luxury car.
Swaziland has one of the world’s highest Aids rates and about a third of his subjects rely on food aid handouts.
The Maybach car, which the king bought in December, has a television, DVD player, 21-speaker surround-sound system, fridge, cordless telephone and sterling silver champagne flutes.
As well as 10 wives, the king has three fiancees.
In recent years, he has asked parliament for $15m to build a palace for each of his spouses and $45m to buy a royal jet.
Street protests led to him abandoning the plans to buy a luxury jet.
Swaziland’s unemployment rate stands at 40% while almost 70% of the country’s one-million population live on an average daily income of $1 or less.
Posted by pog-ma-thon on 2005 07 07 at 01:04 AM • permalink
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I LIKE the King of Swaziland. He has STYLE. This is how African kings SHOULD be!