Commitment to Injustice

Live 8, the musical phenomenon, a great chance for all to unite in multi million dollar stadiums around the world, instigated and driven by Sir Bob Geldof, rocker turned activist, with the best of the best in the entertainment industry, performing with the ultimate goal of generating awareness throughout the world for what is the worst humanitarian crisis in history, that of African poverty. One of Sir Bob Geldoff’s goals is to persuade the members of the G8 summit meeting, to double aid to Africa. The G8 meeting comprises of 8 of the world’s most powerful countries, who come together for an emergency meeting. On this year’s agenda is Africa. One of the requests that Geldoff and millions others are pushing for, is the doubling of aid given to Africa. But the question I am asking is, is billions more dollars what these countries really need?

Nigeria is said to be the most corrupt country in the world in the annual study undertaken by “Transparency International”; with Angola, Cameroon, Kenya and Mozambique in the top 10. Having five African countries all in the top 10 most corrupt countries in the world is a very frightening fact. I wouldn’t be comfortable throwing billions of dollars to these deceitful, disloyal leaders.

I would like to clearly state, that I do not think we should do nothing to help the multitudes of people suffering in Africa. The problem I am having is with the something part, and what that something should be. The only feasible solution that I can see is to end corruption of the leaders in Africa. That in itself is quite easily seen as an impossible task.

Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. The World Bank, International Monetary Fund and bilateral donors have provided funds to rehabilitate Tanzania's outofdate economic infrastructure and to alleviate poverty. But with a government where the leader, President Mkapa has bought a 40 million dollar jet to use to go to Addis Ababa to the African Commission meeting... to tell Mr. Blair, 'Please give us more money so that we can fight poverty in Tanzania,' is a real shame. It is abundantly clear to see how critical his country’s problems are. Personally, I think it is a fantastic way to aid your people, spending donated money so necessarily on a 40 million dollar private 18 seated jet. The government allocated less than a dollar for every Tanzanian facing hunger over 12 months and he has 40 million dollars to buy a jet because he doesn’t want to fly on a commercial plane. The reason he doesn’t want to fly commercially is because that way he will have to be in contact with the people he is robbing and in due course, killing. Not to mention the hundreds of millions of dollars he has hidden away. He is causing indirect genocide. The life expectancy of the population is a mere 45 years of age. Tanzania, with a population of over 36.5 million where the vast majority of whom are suffering, at the hands of their great leader, President Mkapa.

Unfortunately, President Mkapa is very far from being alone. Swaziland’s leader, King Mswati the 3rd, whose people are going through the daily trauma of death by starvation and struggling to have enough strength to walk, is extremely content with his 18 wives, each receiving their very own, brandspanking new Mercedes Benz convertible. With governments where their leaders live in 20 bedroom mansions at the expense of the Western World’s generosity, these generous benefactors, whose aim it is, to end the suffering of millions of people. All the funds given to try counter the fact that Swaziland and most other African countries have the world's highest known rates of the HIV/AIDS infection and buying some much needed medication. Money given so that with any luck the governments would share it among the people, building and creating; going through every possible prospect, contemplating where the money would come to best use. Attempting to rid the people of the atrocity they face, although the sad thing is, to many of the people, the malevolence doesn’t lie just within their leaders, it lies with the fact that they are actually living.

Although, think about it, why on Earth would these corrupt African governments even want to help their people. They are living it up, the absolutely highlife, multimillion dollar jets, 5 course meals, enormous mansions, who would want to give that up.? Why should they care that millions are dying, they are happy. They love the support and the billions being thrown their way, give the odd dollar to the people and keep all the rest, to help furnish their more then stable Suisse bank accounts with more millions. Noone can even try opposing these people because they will most likely be killed. Don’t even think about running a political party either, because all other political parties are banned by these governments.



Dr. Ian Taylor, a senior lecturer in African Politics at St Andrews University says that

“Most people assume that lack of aid has produced Africa’s woes. The problem is not that Africa has no money but that many of its leaders squander and embezzle it.”

In 2003 Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo built a stadium worth $US347 million ($A438 million), twice the value of the countries health budget that year. The money stolen from Kenya in the Goldenberg scandal of the 1990’s could have educated the countries primary school children for a decade.

Taylor’s extensive research shows that in 26 years, $US274 billion was taken out of 30 African countries, much of it by despots. This was 145 per cent of the debts of all those countries! He declares that “If you have a government that is going to be nicking all of the money, nothing is going to make much of a difference.” “I’m not against aid, but I’m against aid being given regardless”

Some argue that the Wealth of the West was originally built on the backs of the poor, but to this I say that they have been supported by billions upon billions of dollars for so many years and what have they done with it?

Poverty has increased, birthrate has increased, and corruption and greed have increased immensely! For how many centuries must the West be guilty for the triumphs of their successes?

Once again, I am just trying to cement the fact that doubling aid, continuously giving billions of dollars will not achieve anything; the aid is not handed out to each and every sick, starving individual, suffering beyond the realms of human understanding. The aid is handed straight to these fraudulent criminals, these evil killers.

These leaders, do not lead, these leaders do not give their people a hope in hell. The sole entity in their lives is themselves, they are so mesmerized by their own greed, that they feel they have a commitment to inequality. That after all, is what this is; they are committed to corruption, to causing untold suffering of their people, as long as they are content. They are committed to themselves and their own position without a care in the world for the atrocity and death they are causing every single day right under their own noses. We have an obligation to let people know that what these autocratic despots are doing, has to, at some point be stopped. Their obsession with themselves and their own needs and wants, comes down to, their commitment to injustice.