Paul Kagame, the President of Rwanda, has an interesting editorial on aid in today's FT. Somewhat to my surprise, certain elements of his argument seem to resonate with Bill Easterly's analysis in The White Man's Burden (which I happen to be re-reading at the moment), and Dambisa Moyo's book, Dead Aid, which he outrightly cites:
Dambisa Moyo’s controversial book, Dead Aid, has given us an accurate evaluation of the aid culture today. The cycle of aid and poverty is durable: as long as poor nations are focused on receiving aid they will not work to improve their economies. Some of Ms Moyo’s prescriptions, such as ending all aid within five years, are aggressive. But I always thought this was the discussion we should be having: when to end aid and how best to end it.... Do not get me wrong. We appreciate support from the outside, but it should be support for what we intend to achieve ourselves. No one should pretend that they care about our nations more than we do; or assume that they know what is good for us better than we do ourselves. They should, in fact, respect us for wanting to decide our own fate. [...] Entrepreneurship is the surest way for a nation to meet these goals...
These are quite bold statements for the President to be making, no less so given that Rwanda is one of the world's most aid dependent countries, with foreign assistance averaging US$55 per capita - approximately 23% of the country's GDP. Regardless, Kagame's push for entrepreneurship over aid appears the correct one (perhaps this is why we see Rwanda rising?). While not mutually exclusive, of course, if long-term economic growth and development are the objectives, the former should indubitably trump the latter.