At the Summit, you may have heard Andrew Rugasira give a talk on an important issue of ‘Aid vs. Trade’ as it relates to African development. Rugasira gave an incredibly compelling argument in favor of Trade as what will be the key to Africa’s future, economically and otherwise. There is no question that Trade is key in Africa’s future. But, as a counterpoint to this discussion, we would like to present another perspective to spur your thinking on the subject.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was the first female finance minister of Nigeria, working to combat corruption, making Nigeria’s finances more transparent, and instituting reforms to make the nation’s economy more hospitable to foreign investment. She has a somewhat different perspective on the ‘Aid vs. Trade’ debate, and we thought it could be valuable to present that here.
Listen to this short talk with a critical ear, let it sharpen and hone your thinking on this subject. Leave your thoughts on the issue in the comments section. Our hope is to foster dialogue. We know that there are many differing opinions on this topic and we want to hear what you think.
Dialogue around these issues is so valuable in helping us crystallize what we believe. When we have clarity on what we believe on a subject like this, we have the foundation to take meaningful action.
Check out the TED talk: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Aid Versus Trade
by: Alex Scott (@xandy_scott)International Coordinator, WCA
I do not think that Ngozi's view is necessarily contrary to Rugasira's. There are two competing purposes for aid: charity and development. Charity aid provides the very basic necessities of life to stop people from dying or suffering. Development aid is designed to lift people out of poverty. Charity aid is necessary, but it does not lift people out of poverty. Development aid is completely ineffective and counterproductive unless it creates and promotes business opportunties. The aid we send is mostly charity aid, or development aid which is poorly targeted and ineffective. Solving poverty is like fixing a leaky bucket. We tend to assume that the answer is to send more water, when the real answer is to fix the leaks.
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