Essay Example: Is Aid a Part of the Problem or the Solution for Development?

Historically, wealthy and developed countries have always offered a helping hand to poor, underdeveloped and developing countries, especially because they are usually faced with civil war challenges, diseases, poverty, and drought. It has always been seen as a good idea, and developed countries are regarded as playing the appropriate big brother role by offering financial, and material assistance to the grieving countries. Although the developed countries seem to implement the advancement of technology, encouraging trade and investment and improved governance, some scholars such as Dambisa Mayo argued that the aid from the developed countries not be a solution. Rather, it is the cause of all the problems that are experienced in the poorest nations in the third world, particularly African countries.

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Even though it is hard for the developing countries to avoid the foreign aid, it is so obvious that the assistance does not benefit the targeted citizens. Instead, it only makes them a fanatic about something they are not aware of. They only come with an aim that is hidden to the beneficiaries and by the time they realize it, they are in agreement that they cannot be able to untie themselves from. The act that was demonstrated in the peace agreement of the northern and the southern Sudan could be viewed as an act of humanity as there was $4.5 billion given out for reconstruction. However, in another dimension, though, the foreign aid issued to the Sudan was not a solution but rather a problem.

Too much wealth given for reconstruction is what paves the way for the vices like corruption and embezzlement of public funds. The question remain, why were the aids given in the first place? It is high time that the developing nation learn about how to stand on their own two feet and build their nations through integrity, hard work, and honesty. Money for the Europeans is considered as the solution to all the Africans problems, but in actual sense, it is the cause and the root of all the vices in the African communities. There are those Africans that are standing up against the act of being given aid as they claim that it only benefits a small group of individuals and economy, it spread corruption, weakens the trade and it places the Africans in the degrading position of having to accept charity. The Kenyan economics expert known as James Shikati was spotted claiming that it was high time that the terrible aid was stopped. It, therefore, shows that the Africans have grown very bitter towards the foreign aid that is given to them as it only makes things worse than making them better.

Technically the reason the development aid tends to disappear is the same. The donors who give out the aid do not plan well, and therefore, the aid ends up being distributed according to the wrong priorities. Once the aid settles on the wrong hand, then corruption, greed and wrong use of the government power become the order of the day. In extent, it is revealed that the West gives lots of donations to the Africans like Norway had made $ 500,000 available aid for 500 refugee camps only. By distributing much money to the few lots, it increases the need to have more and thus paved the way for the corruption.

In the headline of the Kenyan newspaper, The Standard, the Kenyans were advocating that aid was not the solution. As much as the African continent is behind in terms of trade, and the fact that most countries depend on the raw materials that continues to depreciate, the fact that Africa is considered as the military hospital is not at all the solution. According to the monitor from Uganda, foreign aid acts as the hindrances towards the democratic development and it, therefore, needed to be viewed in another angle. The paper also indicates that when aid presents itself to the African, it stands in the way and inhibits the beneficiary transparency that is needed in the society.

The aid that is given to the Africans too comes with many demands. There are many expectations, and the Africans are left wondering if the aids were an act of charity or only winning the trust so that the demand can follow later and then plead cannot be resisted. The green politician known as Uschi gave a warning that the donor who donate services and goods to the Africans and do not make demands, then he or she should not expect the country to reform. The urge that drives the donors to give will lead to accumulation, or even donation of double the amount placed on a silver plata but the problems in Africa will remain.

Even if the aid is made colorful by calling the aid as development cooperation, it is still aid that is given to the Africans at the expense of handling total control of the resources to them. Evidence from the Namibia indicates that the Africans can live and improve on their own without having to depend on someone. Depending on people is what makes someone lazy, unable to think and reason, but when it is the person with the mantle, then they can turn up like Namibia. It reached a time when a Namibians leader, Sam Nujoma believed that his people did not need aid and he told the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair that he believed that the Africans are as good as the European, and he never cared for someone who thought otherwise.

A British sociologist and the best author who wrote his book Lords of Poverty indicates the faults that are there in the developmental aid and claims that it is bad, and the angle that the donor tries to reach in was a bad turn. He argued that it was impossible to reform the countrys economic status through an act of charity. What the people need though is empowerment that they can reach far and do great just like the developed nations.

Every autumn there is a publication that is done by the UN as they try to save in countries like Ethiopia. The kind of countries that is faced by the catastrophe of hunger. The white corns are brought as the remedy for hunger and so as the human race could be safeguarded. In this case, there is the delivery of too many sacks of corn that the surplus corn is sold at the dumping prices, and it, therefore, affects the local markets. It, therefore, becomes a massive blow to the economy as they cannot sell their products and if they do sell, it would be a great loss that would have affected the economy of the country. The countries that have tried to back out from the donation are slammed from the picture. Aid does not have any help in playing a positive role in promoting development nevertheless; it is aimed at promoting crises at this time of global economic crisis. Aid have more if not serious limitations towards the development of the poorest countries. Instead of aid, helping to fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS in the sub-Saharan African, it only shows the signs of increasing. More people have increased in the take of ARVs. The number of individuals who received ARVs for free increased from 50,000 in the year 2002 to 2.1 million in 2007. Aid alone can never be the solution to end the AIDS pandemic in Africa since the need for better workers, proper program management, and better health systems can be used to save lives too. It is up to the Africans to heed the wake-up call and emulate the countries like Namibia who do not depend on aids and are doing very well.

The politician has used aid as a way of earning the peoples vote with the claim of having helped the community while in a real sense nothing like that has happened. When the government wants to campaign for better ranking and so that he or she can win the election, the bottom line includes raising the percentage of the aid to the people so that they can view him as a good example. Like if the education funds were supposed to be 13 %, the individual would raise the percentage up to 80 and makes sure that there are announcements on the radio on how the government is supporting the education. The bottom line is not the donation, but how the civil society aid donors and the government can work together to improve the aid systems since they are not fulfilling the aim that is not supposed to make.

Just like what Bill Gates, the Microsoft billionaire has selected some set of strict rules that enable someone to apply for help but must prove that he or she can work, so should the aids be supposed to do. The aid is supposed to be offered after proving of hard work, but not sitting around like a bumble waiting for a donation. The donations are the one that leaves the Africans to lack the ability to fend for themselves and to grow economically as they always have a person to lift their mess up once in a while. The fact that the Africans are more exposed to poverty does not mean that they lack the capacity to think and act intellectually. The aids make the Africans to; lose their dignity as the Europeans are considered as the merciful heroes and the Africans as the victims. It is seen as impossible to develop a prosperity that is falling apart, and so it is high time that the Africans cleaned their mess and discovered that they can do great when they do not sit and wait for someone to decide on when to give out money, when to use it and how to use it. The foreign aid will only make the developing countries be more poorer and the less developed region to scramble.