Bono recently wrote in a New York Times Op/Ed piece,
I've seen dumb aid at work.
A dam created a lake that covered the only dependable well in the region, rendering the well inaccessible and the water from it tainted by the surface water. If the dam had been declined, the other aid money on offer would have been jeopardised. The decisionmakers took the dodgy dam so they could get what they really wanted elsewhere. That's dumb aid. The only-game-in-town, take it or leave it. Zimbabwe 1997
"Aid, it’s clear, is still part of the picture.It’s crucial, if you have H.I.V. and are fighting for your life, or if you are a mother wondering why you can’t protect your child against killers with unpronounceable names or if you are a farmer who knows that new seed varietals will mean you have produce that you can take to market in drought or flood. But not the old, dumb, only-game-in-town aid — smart aid that aims to put itself out of business in a generation or two. “Make aid history” is the objective. It always was. Because when we end aid, it’ll mean that extreme poverty is history. But until that glorious day, smart aid can be a reforming tool, demanding accountability and transparency, rewarding measurable results, reinforcing the rule of law, but never imagining for a second that it’s a substitute for trade, investment or self-determination."
I've seen dumb aid at work.
A dam created a lake that covered the only dependable well in the region, rendering the well inaccessible and the water from it tainted by the surface water. If the dam had been declined, the other aid money on offer would have been jeopardised. The decisionmakers took the dodgy dam so they could get what they really wanted elsewhere. That's dumb aid. The only-game-in-town, take it or leave it. Zimbabwe 1997
What of aid that is decided upon by the community,
aid that is greed upon, applied, and accounted for
by those who are most directly affected?
aid that is greed upon, applied, and accounted for
by those who are most directly affected?
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