Governance and Development

Christian:
Meeting in Hokkaido, Japan, the G8 leaders were taken to task for not meeting the targets they set for providing Overseas Development Aid to Africa.  Oxfam made a point of singling out Canada as one of the two worst offenders.  Canada contends otherwise.  But is this even the debate we should be having?  Of every $1 spend on ODA in the US, 80 cents never actually leaves the beltway.  In Canada, we fare a bit better: Just under 50 cents on the dollar actually makes it out of the country.  And most of that money goes to financing infrastructure that accelerates the exploitation of third-world countries.  A Kenyan economist has estimated that of every $1 in development, up to ten times that amount ends up leaving Africa in natural resources.  So, it could be argued that ODA, far from helping African countries develop, is only exacerbating their exploitation by the affluent West.  In many developing countries, including Mexico and Sri Lanka, the greatest source of foreign income are actually remittances.  While critics argue that remittances go to individuals directly rather than to governments, is that not precisely their strength?  By virtue of going to individuals, there is no wasteful or corrupt government bureaucracy involved and the money arguably goes directly to the people that need it most.  So, would it not make a whole lot of sense to get rid of ODA altogether and instead invest that money in making sure immigrants and migrant workers in G8 countries have their qualifications recognized and their skills upgraded so that they gain access to well-remunerated work and are able to send more of their earnings home?  Dollar for dollar, is that not a far better investment?

Meghan:
This type of approach continues the robbery of resources from developing nations by affluent ones. Encouraging immigration from developing nations removes the intellectual talent necessary for these nations to emerge from desperate poverty and function on the world stage.  What is the solution? Certainly ODA has some serious limitations; G8 intervention in the governance of African nations has encouraged and enabled corrupt leadership to continue. The legacy of colonialism, and the dog-eat-dog world of capitalism has limited the ability of developing nations to devise and implement their own solutions. For ODA to work in a meaningful and lasting way, G8 countries need to acknowledge the legacy of colonialism, seek out indigenous knowledge and work towards creating indigenous solutions.