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The Trouble with Africa: Why Foreign Aid Isn't Working

The Trouble with Africa: Why Foreign Aid Isn't Working
By Robert Calderisi

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Product Description

After years of frustration at the stifling atmosphere of political correctness surrounding discussions of Africa, long time World Bank official Robert Calderisi speaks out. He boldly reveals how most of Africa’s misfortunes are self-imposed, and why the world must now deal differently with the continent.
Here we learn that Africa has steadily lost markets by its own mismanagement, that even capitalist countries are anti-business, that African family values and fatalism are more destructive than tribalism, and that African leaders prey intentionally on Western guilt. Calderisi exposes the shortcomings of foreign aid and debt relief, and proposes his own radical solutions.
Drawing on thirty years of first hand experience, The Trouble with Africa highlights issues which have been ignored by Africa’s leaders but have worried ordinary Africans, diplomats, academics, business leaders, aid workers, volunteers, and missionaries for a long time. It ripples with stories which only someone who has talked directly to African farmers--and heads of state--could recount.
Calderisi’s aim is to move beyond the hand-wringing and finger-pointing which dominates most discussions of Africa. Instead, he suggests concrete steps which Africans and the world can take to liberate talent and enterprise on the continent.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #70615 in Books
  • Published on: 2007-05-29
  • Released on: 2007-05-29
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 256 pages

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
It isn't the legacy of the slave trade or colonialism, or the supposed inequities of globalization and world trade, that are to blame for Africa's travails, argues this stimulating contrarian essay. The author insists that Africa's problems are largely of its own making, the product of dictatorial, kleptocratic governments; rampant corruption; economic policies that hobble agriculture, discourage private investment and strangle new businesses with red tape; and a cultural fatalism that inures Africans to misery. Calderisi draws on his experience as a World Bank official in Africa, peppering his analysis with personal anecdotes about Africa's callous, venal officialdom and misguided economic policies. He offers a muted defense of World Bank policies, but also decries Western "political correctness" in indulging Africa's dysfunctions and calls for a new tough-love approach to foreign aid. Assistance to most countries, he contends, should be cut in half and conditioned on thorough democratic reforms and strict oversight by Western donors; responsible governments—he lists Uganda, Ghana, Tanzania, Mozambique and Mali—should get a large increase in aid with few strings attached. Calderisi's focus on Africa's internal faults and his somewhat essentialist musings on the "African character" will stir controversy, but his cogent argument is an important addition to the conversation over Africa's future. (Mar. 9)
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Review
"This politically-incorrect work is a boisterous, entertaining and highly accessible polemic by a man who, when it comes to development and Africa, has every reason to know his onions. The author challenges the shibboleths of the aid industry with courage, compassion and humour. A timely and bracing read."--Michela Wrong, Author of In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in the Congo. "At first, this book made my hair stand on end, but then I saw it as the heartfelt cry of a lover of Africa who has devoted his best years to the continent. His analysis is disturbing and non-conformist, but I agree with his suggestions. He was not born one, but he is nonetheless a great 'African'."--Martin Ziguélé, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (2001-2003) and runner-up in the March-April 2005 presidential elections.  "The Trouble with Africa is a blast of fresh air over a continent that has for decades been suffocating under a blanket of well meant concern, ineffectual at best, and harmful at worst."--Michael Holman, former Africa editor, Financial Times

"This is a hard-hitting, brutally honest personal essay about Africa. It is gripping, well-researched and fascinating. Corrupt and incompetent African government officials will fret over this but it is the bitter truth the African people would want told to the world."--George B.N. Ayittey, Ph.D., Distinguished Economist at American University and President of The Free Africa Foundation, Washington, D.C. “This is a timely, intriguing and provocative book. The author’s love of the continent shines through every line, yet his bold suggestions will raise some eyebrows and provoke debate (as they should). The book ripples with good stories, mixes passion and reason, and is very often simply touching.”--Baroness Lynda Chalker, former Minister of Overseas Development for the United Kingdom

About the Author
Robert Calderisi studied at the Universities of Montreal, Oxford, Sussex and London. A 1968 Rhodes Scholar, he first visited Africa in November 1975. He has had a thirty-year career in international development, principally at the World Bank, where he held several senior positions. From 1997 to 2000, he was the Bank’s international spokesperson on Africa. He has lived in France, the Ivory Coast, Tanzania, the United Kingdom, and the US. He is now a consultant and writer, splitting his time between Montreal and Paris.

Customer Reviews

This tells the story....5
IF you want to get a great idea of the screwed up programs and screwed up governments of the continent, then read this book. The author does a great job descibing the situations and their historical significance. I learned a lot about Africa. He tells things people don't want to hear.

Author does not know the trouble with Africa1
The author has no idea about the trouble with Africa, so I am not sure why this is the title of the book. Frankly, part of the problems we face is so-called experts claiming to know things that they are absolutely clueless about and worsening our living conditions. I am not even sure why the professor would assign such a ridiculous book. It makes no sense whatsoever. If you are interested in knowing about Africa's development, history, and politics this is not the book for you.

If you care about Africa look elsewhere2
The author (mostly) writes about himself, and his plush life as an UN diplomat. His style is poor, his insights are predictable.

There are so many books which could bring you understanding of this magnificent continent as Martin Meredith "The Fate of Africa" (history of every country on the continent since independence) or books by Kapuscinsky, if you want to understand how ordinary people live in Africa, rather than how wrong and dismal politics is made.

There are few interesting observations World Bank envoy makes concerning how wrong international help could go. He points out that unconditional help makes things worse. He gives several revealing examples how undertakings supposed to bring good, make more misery instead.