UN slams rich countries

story headlined, µ81 slams rich countries¶, which was published on page in the µWorld 1ews¶ section in last week¶s edition of this publication, evoked my interest.

8nited 1ations leader Antonio *u terres was reported to have, µslammed the world¶s rich countries and energy giants for throttling poor nations with µpredatory¶ interest rates and crippling fuel prices...¶

It was also reported that *uterres, µtold a summit of the most deprived 6tates on the planet that wealthy na tions should provide 86 billion a year to help others trapped in vicious cycles that block their efforts to boost economies and improve health and education...¶

*uterres went on further, and men tioned that, “(conomic development is challenging when countries are starved for resources, drowning in debt, and still struggling with the historic inMustice of an uneTual &29 I' response,´ he said.

7he most important part of *uterres¶ speech in as far as I¶m concerned, which caught my attention, and gave me food for thought, was that these least developed countries /'& were µtrapped in vicious cycles that block their efforts to boost economies and improve health and education...¶

I will base the theme of today¶s arti cle, that is, in as far as I¶m concerned, on what could be some of the contrib uting factors that causes some of these /'&s to more often than not, fail to at least, self sustain themselves with the available, internal resources natural or otherwise at their disposal, instead of perpetually begging for help, cap in hand.

Instead, many of these countries largely rely on foreign aid, preferring to go cap in hand, begging rich coun tries to come to their rescue, even when evidence is glaring that they are in a favourable, pole position to self develop their own countries eco nomically, socioeconomically, and are capable of catering for the welfare of their own citizens.

)irstly, on the one hand, we cannot lie to ourselves, thinking that rich countries have an obligation to come to the rescue of /'&s. 6ome of them chiefly do it out of moral concerns, which includes some of the following reasons

7o improve local and national so cial cohesion reduce the threat of social and economic instability create economic opportunities reduce the likelihood of public health problems, and pandemics and reduce the rates of migration to rich countries ...´ 6ource JRRJOH FRP

2n the other hand, we also need to confront the truth, head on and face the fact that governments in many /'& are not doing enough to develop their own countries, help enhance the welfare of their own people because of the brutal truth that they more often than not, misuse their country¶s available resources for personal development and that of their families, as well as that of their close associates through crippling vices like corruption, which manifests itself in numerous ways, including the looting of public resources, and, at worst, donor funds.

7he scourge of corruption in some of these countries is a maMor problem which cripples development, pushing their citizens further down in the pits of dire poverty.

According to the very same 81, “&orruption affects all areas of so ciety. Preventing corruption unlocks progress towards the 6ustainable 'evelopment *oals, helps protect our planet, creates Mobs, achieves gender eTuality and secures wider access to essential services such as healthcare and education´.

It is no secret that corruption and other vices, is one of the maMor imped iments of economic growth of many countries, globally. In numerous, least developed countries¶ governments, in cluding those in the African continent which carry the /&' tag, this vice has wreaked havoc, reducing citizens of their countries to pitiful beggars, who scramble for crumbs falling down from their leaders¶ tables.

CORRUPTION

It is important to mention that cor ruption was not a maMor problem in many of these least developed coun tries, prior to them gaining self rule, that is, before colonialism. )ollowing independence, some of these least developed countries, including those in the African continent, fell into the age old trap of allowing newly gained power to not only corrupt their gov ernments, but allowed it to corrupt their leaders absolutely.

7he scourge of corruption in some of these countries has persistently stunted economic growth, drained and continue to do so key resources from much needed investment, espe cially in sectors like those of health, education, infrastructure development and other basic services.

Well meaning, developmental pro grammes had been at times availed to rescue many /6's from wallowing in a sea of poverty. 6ome of these had been abused.

6adly, due to the corrupt activities at government level in many of these least developed countries, resources were, and, continue to be diverted from well meaning and vital devel opmental programmes by selfish in dividuals for their own, personal use.

African continent governments es pecially e[cel in these shenanigans. According to ZZZ JULQ FRP “&or ruption has harmed Africa¶s econom ic, political, and social development. &orruption reduces private investment and current resource productivity, widens income disparities, reduces foreign direct investment, cuts domes tic ta[es and increases government spending.

“2n a political level, corruption undermines democracy, damages gov ernmental legitimacy, and tarnishes the continent¶s good image in the eyes of the outside community. &orruption has a negative impact.¶¶

Who suffers the most from corrup tion in many global governments, including those in least developed countries category" 7he grassroots people, certainly.

POLITICALLY

&orruption has harmed many Af rican governments politically, eco nomically, and socially in key areas of development. It affects income dis parities, with the poor getting poorer, while the rich prosper obscenely. .ey investment opportunities are reduced, and this affects vital, foreign direct investment )'I .

At political level, corruption un dermines the concept of democracy, especially, in the African continent it inflicts huge damage to many least developed countries, destroying Af rican governments¶ legitimacy and credibility, tarnishing the continent¶s image in the eyes of the international community.

Who then can take seriously the cries of /&'s for economic help when many of these governments abuse their country¶s available resources

for personal gain through corrup tion, while they ignore to cater for the welfare of their own people"

/et me share with the reader part of an interesting article, sourced from

KWWSV ZZZ JLVUHSRUWVRQOLQH

FRP U FRUUXSW OHDGHUV DIULFD

4uote 7he systems that support cor ruption in Africa written by 7eresa 1ogueira Pinto in 2ctober,

“'espite increasing international regulations, corrupt leaders in Africa continue to find ways to enrich them selves using illicit means. *lobalisa tion, ill conceived aid programmes and increasing grip on power pandem ic are factors that have allowed for the graft to go on.

“)or the last years of the cen

th

tury, authoritarian nationalism within a bipolar world order characterized most African countries¶ politics. At the time, the global superpowers were willing to support and aid au thoritarian leaders. 'emands for ac countability were few to none[istent. 7he continent¶s µbig men¶ were able to amass colossal personal riches ....

LEADERS

“7hroughout the &old War, corrupt leaders in resource rich and strate gically relevant countries received their money from governments and companies.

In a world where corruption was not at the top of the agenda and there was little regulation, some of the money was spent to sustain patronage net works, build lu[urious palaces and hold elaborate ceremonies. 7he rest was placed in safe havens overseas, in bank accounts and properties.

“7hree factors have contributed to the persistence of corruption in the post &old War period.

7he first is globalisation, with its multiplication and acceleration of financial flows.

7he second is continual rent seek ing, involving political elites and foreign companies.

7he third is the consolidation of what =ambian economist 'ambisa 0oyo describes as µsystemic aid¶. “0oving the money 7he end of the &old War

“7he subseTuent waves of democ ratization and the acceleration of globalization changed the corrup tion dynamic. *eopolitical interests, while still important, became less prominent.

“Public scrutiny and the increased availability of information reTuired corrupt leaders to find more sophis ticated ways to accumulate and hide illicit money. Increasing anti corrup tion regulations have made life more difficult for kleptocrats throughout the world.

“Plenty of prominent figures have already been caught with their hands in the cookie Mar. In 6outh Africa, high profile politicians and leaders were arrested for their corrupt in volvement in state capture.

“In the 'emocratic 5epublic of the &ongo, the µ/umumba Papers¶ revealed that in large sums of money were transferred to the coun try¶s national election commission. 0oreover, the president¶s former chief of staff was convicted of embezzling more than million.

In Angola, a former transport minis ter was sentenced to years in prison for corruption and embezzlement of state funds. In 0alawi, banker 7hom son 0pinganMira was arrested for allegedly attempting to bribe Mudges.´

FINALLY

)inally, should international donor countries continue to pump funds in least developed countries whose governments are prone to corruption"

%elow is an e[tract from an article published in the ZZZ WKHJXDUGLDQ FRP from the *lobal 'evelopment website

Written by (mmanuel 0utaizibwa and 1gina .irori 2ur investigation showed a desire for accountability in countries blighted by repression and corruption 7hu )eb . (67

4uote “...In a recent investigation on trends of repression and resistance in five African countries, published by =A0 magazine, it has become clear that demands for accountability for the management of state budgets of African countries, and particularly the use of donor funds, are growing louder ± and also that these demands are either ignored, or are met with murder, torture and imprisonment, added to oppressive laws that muzzle dissenting voices ....

“...In turn, the call to western coun tries to “stop paying our oppressors´ is also on the rise. We don¶t advocate a total end to aid to impoverished countries in Africa, since this could see health, education and infrastruc ture crumble, while despotic rulers and their families, who have stashed ill gotten funds in safe havens, are unlikely to feel the effects of a finan cial sTueeze.

“%ut more pressure for accountabil ity from these regimes, and support for those who are demanding better governance and democracy, might help change things.

7he people we encountered in the countries we investigated ± &ame roon, =imbabwe, 8ganda, 1igeria and .enya ± are imploring institutions such as the World %ank and I0) to enforce transparency and accounta bility mechanisms and punish corrupt governments.

“7hey want development partners to take note of the research and the evidence compiled by African media and civil society groups that show corruption and bad governance...´ 8nTuote.

Well, there you have it. Without any shadow of doubt, African continent governments desperately need aid from rich countries, but it is eTually important that this aid is used specif ically for what it is intended for not to enrich corrupt governments, who leave out development in key sectors like those of health, education, infra structure, and most importantly, fail to uplift the lives of the citizens of the least developed countries /&'s .

Wishing everyone a happy and bless ed day. Peace 6halom