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Daily Archives: May 30, 2008

New wave of African aid (aka grabbing natural resources)

Afraid of being left behind, Japan, a resources-scare country, is following China and India, is set to offer more aid to African countries, this time with no strings attached. The strings, advocated by Europeans and Americans, require good governance and human rights.
 
This is a troublesome development. 
 
This new wave of African aid, with sole purpose of competing and grabbing for more natural resources may leave African people with more income to spend. But aid without improving governance and institutions in general could end up hurting these poorest countries in the world in the very long run.