by Mwizenge S. Tembo, Ph. D Professor of Sociology
“I would rather know it than be threatened by it”. – Mwizenge S. Tembo, September 26. 2005.
Dambisa Moyo, Dead Aid: Why Aid is not Working and How there is Another Way for Africa, London: Allen Lane, Penguin Books, 2009, pp. 188, $19.95, Paperback.
Introduction
A powerful billionaire at a major international aid conference called her and her book “Evil”. At a different forum an American-based Zambian intellectual blasted and excoriated her book as advocating that millions of poor Zambians and Africans should be denied life-saving assistance and therefore would die by the millions if Dr. Moyo’s views were implemented. The few comments by Zambians that I read on line on the internet expressed outrage that a Zambian would advocate such a deadly policy. The handful of Zambian critiques supported the billionaire claiming he was a kind man who was saving their lives. It never occurred to these few Zambians who were critical that a foreigner was calling one of their own Zambian intellectual and her intellectual ideas “Evil”. All of this unjustified and over the top vitriol was because Dr. Dambisa Moyo had just published the book: “Dead AID”.
International Flight
I was flying to Zambia in 2009 when the book caught my eye at the airport in Johannesburg. I bought it with the intention of reading the whole book on the long flight and may be using it for teaching my College or University students. I may have read a chapter or two but got distracted and never finished it. I was very surprised when on March 12, 2016, Dr. Moyo was still defending “promoting evil” remarks the billionaire had made in 2013 regarding her book. I decided I would read the entire book which I did in one day in between a very heavy work schedule.
Book Review
Dr. Dambisa Moyo in her book: “Dead Aid” explains very clearly in the very first chapter of the book: “The Myth of Aid” that there are 3 types of foreign or international aid. The first is humanitarian or emergency aid which is distributed in response to natural disasters such as earth quakes, the Asian tsunami in 2004, famine, disease epidemics such as Ebola in West Africa. The second is charity-based aid which is distributed on the ground by organizations in affected countries. This is the aid that might target malnutrition, empowering poor women, promote health care, birth control, or fight against poverty in general. The third is systematic aid “- that is, aid payments made directly to governments either through government-to-government transfers via institutions such as the World Bank (known as multilateral aid).” (p.7)
Dr. Moyo devotes about a paragraph to discussing some of the criticism that could be leveled at both emergency aid and charity aid in terms of how the aid is distributed and other weaknesses. She hastens to add: “But this book is not concerned with emergency and charity aid.” (p.7) She says that the significant emergency and charity aid that goes to Africa gives the wrong impression to the international community, the West, Africans, and Zambians that all types of aid to Zambia and Africa must be good aid doing good work helping and saving lives.
Dr. Dambisa Moyo devotes the first 4 chapters of the book criticizing and debunking the myth that the estimated one trillion dollars of systematic or government-to-government aid that rich countries have distributed to Africa since 1940 has resulted into meaningful, strong, and sustainable economic growth. She argues that this type of systematic aid has failed in Africa. Instead may have resulted into the decline of GDP and worsened corruption and may have fueled even civil wars in Africa. In the first four chapters or 68 pages of the book, she discusses “The Myth of Aid”, “A Brief History of Aid”, “Aid is Not Working” and “The Silent Killer of Growth”. She includes statistical and empirical data to argue her case in critiquing systematic or government-to-government aid.
Suggestions for Better Economic Strategies
In second 6 chapters or 86 pages or part II, Dr. Moyo devotes to “A World without Aid”. The six chapters include a discussion of: “A Radical Rethink of the Dependency Model”, “A Capital Solution”, and “The Chinese are Our Friends” and “Making Development Happen”. In a very pragmatic and non-dogmatic ways, she proposes some radical ways of how African countries could find and establish alternative ways of getting capital to use for economic development. She discusses and infuses the better role of flows of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as a better alternative for economic development in Africa rather than aid just as other countries do use FDI. She explores the role of trade, micro-credit organizations loans, and remittances from abroad as possible collective and better alternative means of creating economic growth in Africa while weaning from the aid dependency model.
Throughout the book, Dr. Moyo draws our attention to the reality that it will not be easy for Africa to eliminate the dependency on aid. “Africa is addicted to aid. For the past sixty years it has been fed aid. Like any addict it needs and depends on its regular fix, finding it hard, if not impossible, to contemplate existence in an aid-less world. In Africa, the West has found its perfect client to deal to.” (p.75)
Zambian Critiques of Dead Aid
When I was in graduate school doing my Ph. D. in the 1980s at the height of the anti-Apartheid Struggle, a black South African classmate told me that many books were banned during the Apartheid era. He did not want even his family members to know he was secretly reading some of the difficult to get banned books because if apprehended the whole family might have been hauled to prison. So at night he would pretend to go to bed in his tiny bedroom. He would retrieve the banned book from a secret location in the room. He would read the book using a torch or flashlight. Whenever anyone opened his bedroom door he would switch off the flash light and pretend to be asleep.
If Dambisa Moyo’s “Dead Aid” has erroneously acquired a bad reputation, you may find yourself unwilling to read it in case you are called names such as you are person who advocates “Evil”. Whether you are an ordinary Zambian, an educated elite, a college or university student, political party cadre or government official or an aid advocate, I recommend you read the book. You can even read it secretly. No one has to know. That’s why I came up with the saying: “I would rather know it than be threatened by it”. Never let the unknown intimidate you. All the 17 universities and colleges in Zambia should be reading this book so that we can have new perspectives and a robust debate. May be we could have better policies for economic growth into the future of Zambia.
International Critiques of Dead Aid
If you are an international critique of “Dead Aid” come up with better explanations as to why you disagree with Dr. Moyo’s argument. Read the book if you have not done so yet. To simply argue that Africans will die if Aid is taken away is to take the lowest denominator moral high ground. This is the argument that seems to imply that Africans, all 1 billion of us, are so helpless like children, that anything that takes away Aid will just kill most of us. One of the international critiques states: “Moyo is not offering a reasoned or evidence-based position on aid.” This statement appalled me because the entire book is full of statistics and arguments based on empirical logical arguments. What “evidence-based” position on aid does the person criticizing have? Let them show the evidence.
Conclusion
This review does not nearly cover or reveal everything Dr. Dambisa Moyo says in the book. She says some provocative things that I will leave for the readers to uncover. I found those ideas intellectually stimulating as I have thought them myself and have expressed them in some of my books. May be after you secretly read the book, let’s have a lively discussion and debate.
That is a very old book. Why bring it back. Who has not read it?
@Nostradamus, you sound like a Zambian parliamentarian. We have all read the constitution, they all claimed at one point. Now they say no one read the document in full.
Dambisa’s thesis in “Dead Aid” is that LDCs should not receive aid but access funding on the international markets through instruments such as Euro Bonds. The reason behind this argument is that this would guarantee proper use of funds. While this is true theoretically, it can be argued that a corrupt government will not be obliged to properly apply funds even if they are borrowed rather than donated. There is enough evidence to support my argument. E.g. Mozambique is on record to have misapplied funds raised from a Euro Bond issue. Zambia is no exception with road contracts that have been inflated and funds being pocketed by corrupt government officials.
I’m also wondering… Ine I’m like “iyi buku ni yakudala mwe”
@Nostradamus: you evil and S.tupid just like the same dead AID. I hate aid it is slavery and brings laziness in our societies. Our leaders are so s.tu.pid and dull that in 21st Century we are still dependent on others. A giving hand is a blessed hand were as an always receiving hand is cursed.
I will not attack PF on this but just the whole Zambian Leadership, lazy and just getting fat with no innovation. We have to let go the evil of AID. Let’s work hard and stand to our feet as per your national anthem. Refer to Dr Moyo’s presentation on YouTube, you will realize that we are very st.upid as African. Lungu and your people what legacy do you leave?? It’s a shame.
Exactly, why would you review a book that is close to 5 years old? Do a revised version if you want. Further, there are hundreds of books on the same topic.
Dr. Moyo is right in many cases. Even at family level, aid breeds a dependency syndrome very difficult to eradicate.
I was going to say the same. Zambians want the limelight. This book was published ages ago. Just because Bill Gates said something, then you are doing a book review, where were you when it was first published? People have already read the book and done their reviews. Too late bwana professor and unnecessary, a waste of your precious time.
DON’T LIE!!!!
AID DOESN’T BREED LAZINESS, it is LAZY BUMS that BREED LAZINESS!!
You go to a bank to borrow money – to use it to help you advance – NOT FOR YOU TO QUIT YOUR JOB & PUT YOUR A.RS.E ON YOUR COUCH FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!!
IT IS NOT AID THAT HAS DESTROYED AFRICA – IT IS ST..U.PID SENSLESS, MYOPIC, BACKWARD THIEVES MASQUERADING AS LEADERS WHO HAVE DESTROYED AFRICA – WITH ALL ITS RICH RESOURCES!!!
This IS WHY DAMBISA’S BOOK MISSES THE POINT, & YOU TOO DR TEMBO DO LIKEWISE!!!
In a nutshell all she was saying was teaching a man to fish and he will have fish for life… this is very true as long as so called third world nations keep begging for donors to fund them the result will be economic slavery
Prof Mwizenge S Tembo are reviewing the book or doing an advert or just defending Dambisa Moyo because you think as a Zambian she needs your protection?
By the way the wealth man who countered Dambisa’s thinking is Bill Gates & their altercation still fascinates some scholars.
Prof do a proper review (of the book) then we can discuss.
Critics…consider this,how much research in Zambia is done by Zambians.
my point is..as zambians we have not invested alot in research.it could be social or scientific research.
having been a research supervisor for a number of foreign based research agents I have come to understand alot of issues among them lack of proper feedback to Government on most projects which are donor funded.the feedback given is usually tailored to create positive impressions so that more funds continue to be given.the western world knows knows all these things,but they continue funding in order to increase their influence in a given country.who can tell me that the northern countries do not know that most of the monies they give to Africa ends in corruption.? and why do they continue to dish aid even with…
The west will always be critical when an intellelectual challenging novelty conundrum or emerges from a developing world. The west adopts an imperialist altitude haunted by their historical imperious mind set.
Time is proving the west wrong in all their traditional view and perception that they are always right. Apatheid is long gone once adored by the west, every nation on earth is independent and development is slowly accruing to indeginous peoples of geographical locations. The world will never be the same and so are idealistic professions that go to the heart of their much cherished imperialism.
Have you just come out of a coma and you are catching up? Dambiso herself has sold her soul to the devil and has been silienced with a job of the board of these selfsame corporations who rape Africa. They knew where she was going it was only a matter of time before the spotlight was on them.
Most students of economics or ADS in the mid 80s (when Dambisa could not progress into Natural sciences at UNZA) can attest that there is anything new in her thesis. I read that book in day and it reminded me of ADS 100 at UNZA.
It’s disgusting to be a perennial recipient of your neighbors’ gifts. You can accept assistance when you have been affected by some unexpected adversity, not as a matter of course. Imagine your family always depending on your rich neighbor for survival. It’s really simple to be self-sufficient as a nation and no need to re-invent wheels. Some countries that were poorer than Zambia at independence now rank among the well to do in the world. They copy what works from other successful countries and replicate it at home. It’s all about innovation, producing things and selling them to generate money. It’s easy to make money if you know how. Africa and Zambia in particular sit on incredible wealth but surprisingly they regard themselves as poor and the nation’s budget has been supported by…
Cont’d
….foreigners for decades! To me both the recipient of these non-stop donations and the donors have some cruel dark agenda or both are crackpots. As an example the CIA estimates that the wealth contained in DR Congo alone is two times greater than the combined GDP of Western Europe and USA, about US$24 trillion. Imagine that! Zambia sits on 40% of all the water in the SADC, about 75% of arable land and minerals too. Zambia could simply make money, lots of it, by feeding hungry mouths surrounding us in Southern Africa and overseas too. It could have been the hub of food for the continent. With riches like that who would want to humiliate her/himself by annually trooping to Europe and America like so many starving vultures to beg for food and money for the budget? Bad leadership…
Cont’d
….has combined with the donor community’s desire to keep us poor by giving us alms and become dependent on them forever. Dambisa’s book is absolute common sense and is summed in wise Chinese proverb that says give a man a fish and you feed him for a day teach him to catch the fish and you feed him for the rest of his life. African leaders must look a joke in the eyes of those in the West with their pot bellies scrambling for scraps. Some even complain if the donations come late or too stringent conditions are attached. The poverty they think they have exists only in their minds. They must learn how to convert their abundant resources into cold hard crispy dollars and stop the shameless begging and tarnishing Africa’s image..
I feel the author of the book has a point.Aid in itself is not bad.It is the conditions that are attached to it that make it diabolical.Most countries have failed to finance this aid because it is beyond their means.As a result,it has crippled a lot of generations and generations.African children are born in this aid and it renders them poor because whatever is acquired,in terms of resources,goes towards relieving the aid burden.Children have ended up getting shoddy services in terms of social infrastructure.I think the best aid Africa can acquire is technical aid.Let the westerners send experts,which should be incorporated with local experts,in carrying out developmental issues.This will curb on corruption and resources will be used for their intended purposes.
Euro, Nostradamus, critico and all *****s saying this is old book why cant you shut up if you have nothing to write. I urge all havent read it to get a copy and those who were young by that time please read it. Thanks Prof dont mind these useless scoundrels.
Yes I agreed with her when she said a benevolent dictator who can push in economic reforms is better than the democracy we have in Zambia (my interpretation) where the opposition criticizes EVERYTHING the ruling party does. Surely nobody can be 100% bad. Some of us think that the late Michael Sata was one such benevolent dictator although because of ill health he was not able to perform to our expectation and the people surrounding him tried very hard to hide his ill health from us.
As many have argued before it is typical of Zambians to criticize without offering alternative perspectives. Prof. Tembo narratives why he’s brought up the topic – he heard what the billionaire said and decided to read the book for himself since he hadn’t previously done so. That should be the new start of the discussion here – not that the book was published many many moons ago. On another note the Zambian economy (and indeed many Africans economies) is doomed due to 1) donor aid dependency whose terms are dictated and are not conducive for the prevailing status quo and 2) poor governance as witnessed by the misapplication of sovereignly acquired loans such as the Eurobonds.
Its amazing at the generalisation that the book says aid is bad for Africa. Dr. Moyo clearly breaks it down into three forms of aid and criticizes the one model and details why. She doesn’t say all forms of aid are bad. The people who are so quick to step up and critic on a general type perspective clearly have not read the book. I saw first hand the negative impact certain aid has on Africans when I saw some of the aid work the very same Bill Gates gave in the DRC. Critic from an informed platform, read the book people, its actually quite cheap.
And for those calling the book old your brain set is what is old. That’s like saying the Bible can not be studied or talked about anymore because its old. The book maybe old but the events that led the author to writing it are still…
Not all the aspects argued by Dambisa Moyo are wrong .As a matter of fact I agree more with Dambisa than Tembo . We need to shift from aid dependence to depending on ourselves.