WHEN CHARITY DISAPPEARS

ARGUABLY, the African continent is the richest in the world, as it abounds in all the resources needed to propel the continent to a level devoid of want, poverty and disease.
Unfortunately, the negative stories about the continent outnumber the issues that we must celebrate. Thus day in day out our leaders are parading Western corridors seeking donor assistance in order to balance their budgets.
In fact, African people manifest an Ewe proverb that says “Abui le avokpo wo dome gake etsi ama”, to wit, the needle sews all the fabrics yet it is naked.
The African continent has no excuse for being at its present level of development where it has to receive emergency aid from the donor community in order to provide for the very basic things of life such as shelter, food and clothing.
Our leaders have become used to donor support, to such an extent that even when we can galvanise our people to provide for their needs, the leaders are unable to provide the leadership to harness the continent’s vast resources for development.
It is worrying that on occasions that the international community is unable to fulfil its pledges as a result of donor fatigue, we fail to see the warning signs on the wall.
The G-8 countries have, on a number of occasions, pledged support in billions of dollars to help ease the debt overhang and poverty challenges on the continent.
Most of these pledges are not redeemed but the leaders of the G-8 continue to pledge their support at every international forum on Africa.
At the launch of a new report by the African Commission in London on Monday, the former UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, said Africa faced an aid shortfall of $40 billion.
He was also said to have chastised the industrialised world for failing to meet the pledges they gave to double aid by 2010.
In a globalised world, Africa cannot pretend to be an island, but a solely interdependent life is not worth living because one day charity will disappear and we would have to stand on our feet.
The DAILY GRAPHIC calls on African leaders to begin looking beyond emergency aid and focus their dialogue with the donor community on sustainable development support.
This way, our donor partners will give a practical demonstration to the Chinese proverb, “If you give a man fish, you feed him a single day, but if you teach him how to fish, you feed him for life.”
That is why the leaders of the continent should stop giving the impression that without aid the continent cannot make it.
The DAILY GRAPHIC believes that the time has come for African governments to be open and transparent in the management of the continent’s resources and also demonstrate more commitment to democracy and respect for civil liberties.
What is happening in Zimbabwe only goes to strengthen the perception in some developing countries that the African is incapable of managing his or her own affairs.
What is refreshing, however, is that African leaders are standing up to be counted by calling on their counterpart in Zimbabwe, Mr Robert Mugabe, to respect democratic principles.
We think the battle is not lost for Africa but the way forward lies in our ability to confront the challenges that threaten our very survival.
Let us galvanise our people to harness our resources, share the outcome equitably and encourage our governments and peoples to respect rules and regulations.