<blockquote>"But the cycle of giving and receiving solidifies Africa's dependency and impedes development. It ignores the banal insight that development can only be what people and societies achieve themselves. What we do is of little interest, while what they -- the Africans -- do is key. Nothing can replace their internal dynamics, not even the most well-intentioned assistance from abroad.
...
...according to the "
Bonn Appeal*," our development policies have failed.
...
The massive international aid machine, made up of countless agencies and organizations, is too far removed from reality. It rotates on its own axis and circles the African continent like some spaceship filled with industrious and committed experts who are constantly dreaming up strategies, holding conferences, forging consensuses, publishing studies, formulating agendas, running the numbers on their macroeconomic models and generating tons of paper. The question of who actually reads these documents is better left unasked. This spaceship functions so perfectly that it could easily exist without Africa.
If we want Africa to embark on a more effective course of development, it must assume more responsibility. This is the core message of the "Bonn Appeal." We are no longer clueless as we face the problems of development. China pointed the way out of poverty by developing economically on its own strength, not by extending its hand for outside assistance...
...
And wherever material and financial assistance is needed, in addition to the provision of skills, we must observe one principle: No handouts! Whenever money is given, the problems begin. As a matter of principle, development aid should only be distributed in the form of loans. This presupposes that all people willing to work for progress have access to loans, and to achieve this, the successful micro-lending model must be expanded, including the use of development aid, so that it reaches all of the poor.
If Africa pursues this path self-confidently and energetically, it will not only attain prosperity but will also regain its dignity.
- Kurt Gerhardt,
Why Africa Is Losing its Dignity, 04/21/2009</blockquote>