Believe me I did not think that was possible...until now. So last week an organization Clooney co-founded; "The Sentry", held a press conference announcing their findings on corrupt top government officials in South Sudan. If you haven't heard this news yet, please feel free to update yourself on Al Jazeera real quick. By the way, if you are non-American/European and you depend solely on CNN or BBC for world news...please please please do something about it. I will recommend checking out Al Jazeera because based on my experience so far, they report news indiscriminately from all over the world. Reporting a lot that is not even mentioned on CNN or BBC. I honestly believe that most of these big media houses are often just propaganda machines (Gaddafi's story being a typical example); hardly ever painting the full picture especially when reporting international stories. Well, enough of the side rant. Let us get back to the story...George Clooney. Oh am I impressed by this man right now. What his organization has started has the potential to accomplish what years and billions of dollars of aid have failed to do.
Now that is helping Africa.
So South Sudan's president, Salva Kiir, his rival Riek Machar, and some other government leaders have allegedly illegally enriched themselves while the country has been engaged in a civil war. With annual salaries much less than a hundred thousand dollars, these officials have somehow managed to acquire property worth millions of dollars. And not only that, a lot of this ill gotten money is obviously used to fund the civil war. The greed and insensitivity of such actions is not only evil but also embarrassing on the world's stage. Given the critical state of South Sudan's economy and society, the lives that are lost or disrupted annually, and the recent struggle to secede from their northern brothers, I can hardly believe the truth of it all. However, I am not surprised. African leaders have proven to be the most detached from the plight of their countrymen. Their absolute lack of empathy is more than frightening.
Many African countries are suffering from similar issues. A handful of people enrich themselves with the nation's resources at the expense of progress and development in the country. For years the West has funneled their help to Africa in the form of "aid", usually to be administered by these corrupt governments. What has that accomplished? What significant changes have we seen? Except of course making the rich richer. Infrastructure, health care and education are still the same if not worse in most of these countries. If such large amounts of aid have failed to make a significant difference, you will think these donors will rethink their strategy right? This is the West we are talking about people, and I know they are smart enough to recognize the futility of this approach. However, year after year, they keep it up. If you are yet to figure out why, let me help you out.
Freeing Africa from the rule of selfish and greedy leadership is not going to be good for the West. African leadership that caters to the country and puts its needs first will not cater to Western business and economic interests. Trade and economy will change drastically and this is bound to affect a lot of European countries especially. If you have not done so already, I urge you to please watch the video below; an insightful TED talk by Mallence Bart Williams. Think about it, is it reasonable that money will be given to visibly corrupt governments to implement what they have already failed to do for years? Does it make sense to believe that a huge percentage of the funds will not be misdirected, as has been done before? It should therefore come as no surprise that instead of getting better, the problems of the developing world have started being reflected in the developed world. Consider how immigration issues in the West have only intensified in the past few years, and although various solutions are being put in place, the problem will not be dealt with until its root is addressed. That root is the political state of most African countries.
So, how can Africa be helped? Listen to news from Africa and it is more or less the same story; long standing ineffective leaders clinging to power. If in over ten years of leadership a government has failed, one does not need a fortune teller to know what any future terms under that government will be like. As such I believe the financial aid of the West and other countries like China will truly help Africa if directed towards investigating, sanctioning and replacing ineffective corrupt governments. This way, the progress and change desired will happen speedily. With good stewardship, most African countries have more than enough resources to meet the needs of their people. Money spent on aid should rather be used to identify and support qualified opposition standing against wealthier and much more powerful candidates. Resources should be spent on instituting and enforcing more transparent electoral systems. I know the West is quite aware of these and several other more effective solutions. So the question is, why the indifference?
Dear Mr. Clooney, could you please do my beloved Cameroon next?
Now that is helping Africa.
So South Sudan's president, Salva Kiir, his rival Riek Machar, and some other government leaders have allegedly illegally enriched themselves while the country has been engaged in a civil war. With annual salaries much less than a hundred thousand dollars, these officials have somehow managed to acquire property worth millions of dollars. And not only that, a lot of this ill gotten money is obviously used to fund the civil war. The greed and insensitivity of such actions is not only evil but also embarrassing on the world's stage. Given the critical state of South Sudan's economy and society, the lives that are lost or disrupted annually, and the recent struggle to secede from their northern brothers, I can hardly believe the truth of it all. However, I am not surprised. African leaders have proven to be the most detached from the plight of their countrymen. Their absolute lack of empathy is more than frightening.
Many African countries are suffering from similar issues. A handful of people enrich themselves with the nation's resources at the expense of progress and development in the country. For years the West has funneled their help to Africa in the form of "aid", usually to be administered by these corrupt governments. What has that accomplished? What significant changes have we seen? Except of course making the rich richer. Infrastructure, health care and education are still the same if not worse in most of these countries. If such large amounts of aid have failed to make a significant difference, you will think these donors will rethink their strategy right? This is the West we are talking about people, and I know they are smart enough to recognize the futility of this approach. However, year after year, they keep it up. If you are yet to figure out why, let me help you out.
Freeing Africa from the rule of selfish and greedy leadership is not going to be good for the West. African leadership that caters to the country and puts its needs first will not cater to Western business and economic interests. Trade and economy will change drastically and this is bound to affect a lot of European countries especially. If you have not done so already, I urge you to please watch the video below; an insightful TED talk by Mallence Bart Williams. Think about it, is it reasonable that money will be given to visibly corrupt governments to implement what they have already failed to do for years? Does it make sense to believe that a huge percentage of the funds will not be misdirected, as has been done before? It should therefore come as no surprise that instead of getting better, the problems of the developing world have started being reflected in the developed world. Consider how immigration issues in the West have only intensified in the past few years, and although various solutions are being put in place, the problem will not be dealt with until its root is addressed. That root is the political state of most African countries.
So, how can Africa be helped? Listen to news from Africa and it is more or less the same story; long standing ineffective leaders clinging to power. If in over ten years of leadership a government has failed, one does not need a fortune teller to know what any future terms under that government will be like. As such I believe the financial aid of the West and other countries like China will truly help Africa if directed towards investigating, sanctioning and replacing ineffective corrupt governments. This way, the progress and change desired will happen speedily. With good stewardship, most African countries have more than enough resources to meet the needs of their people. Money spent on aid should rather be used to identify and support qualified opposition standing against wealthier and much more powerful candidates. Resources should be spent on instituting and enforcing more transparent electoral systems. I know the West is quite aware of these and several other more effective solutions. So the question is, why the indifference?
Dear Mr. Clooney, could you please do my beloved Cameroon next?
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