Donations from rich states do transform lives in recipient nations by relieving desperation in emergencies and helping poorer nations stabilise while they foster a pathway for long-term development, at least that is the hope; but the intentions of the donor nations should still be open to question and so is the impact of donor activity in receiving regions. In Matabeleland we talk of the concept of localisation and insist that chronic dependency on aid must not be the future. We need a shift in mindset to reconfigure our approaches to development and our relationship with richer nations.
We believe in the mutuality of relationships. There must be an understanding that no nation has any right to command another merely because it is richer and the other poorer. To use financial and material abundance to exploit others is an inhumane attitude to relationships.
Foreign aid has its place and time, but dependence on it for development increases risk of suppression of local initiatives. No nation is empowered by foreign donations. A development design whose base and main source of funding are foreign aid does alter how communities see themselves and work, but it does very little to empower them because it often limits local control over the design and priorities of activities. As much as we wish to see aid as a donation, aid is not free, it is not a blank check but costly, you pay with your dignity while surrendering control, your potential to achieve, and self-respect to aid agencies and/ or governments.
We must never allow ourselves, or put our children, their children and their children’s children in a position where they become comfortable charity cases. Foreign aid is a tumour in the development and empowerment of our communities that needs to be removed. Aid is not devoid of political intentions. While we all agree that supporting those in need has nothing to do with politics, the reality is to the contrary, and aid is routinely used for soft power purposes by donor nations keen to keep certain parts of the world under the sphere of their economic and political influence. As described by a US Senator Lindsey Graham (Republican), “Foreign assistance is an insurance policy. Investing over there, even though we have needs here, makes us safer.”
Giving aid is not always out of charity but self-interest. The donor nations set conditions for their aid thus, aid format is based on the donors’ attitudes to the recipients and less on the needs of the needy. It is our hope that with time, instead of there being a politicisation of humanitarian aid, there will be a humanisation of politics so that those in need are assisted according to their needs not just the sense of guilt of the donor.
Local interventions are often the best solutions because what they lack in finances, they make up in knowledge of needs and experience. We do appreciate that the lack of resources in many African states is a cause for concern, but it is just a part of the problem; otherwise, the enduring scarcity mindset is a killing zone for our communities more than the material poverty. That scarcity mindset is heavily dependent on our focus on what we do not have, and we are fully responsible for its survival. Rather than being distracted by what we lack, we should start looking inside ourselves and be courageous to think for ourselves.
First, we need to shift focus, look back in appreciation at the depth and breadth of what we have within our societies and second, we must optimise the use of aid and that will mean identifying areas where appropriate aid (financial or expertise) will be channelled and used to empower individuals and communities.
It is also a fact that most of the foreign aid is lost to corruption by government officials and does not always reach the intended target populations. The little that does find its way to the poor is politicized by the political elite.
Corruption can be curtailed by designing a layer of protective institutions that promote accountability of the transfer of resources from the donor community to the target communities. We need to put recipient communities at the forefront of programmes; after all, people have a better knowledge of their needs and priorities.
Matabeleland has a responsibility to itself to resist the culture of dependency; we must refuse to be conditioned into perceiving foreign aid as an entitlement and a base for development. Aid must be seen for what it is – a temporary, timely safety net for poorer communities while permanent solutions are sought to empower them in the longer term; it must not be turned into a hammock that lulls our communities into complacency and dependence. Communities expecting rescue never learn to save themselves. Even with the means, they will find their courage wanting.
MTHWAKAZI INDEPENDENT 