The Anti-Bono: Questions for Dambisa Moyo

New York Times ^ | February 19, 2009 | Deborah Solomon

[reaganaut1]

Q: As a native of Zambia with advanced degrees in public policy and economics from Harvard and Oxford, you are about to publish an attack on Western aid to Africa and its recent glamorization by celebrities. ‘‘Dead Aid,’’ as your book is called, is particularly hard on rock stars. Have you met Bono?

A: I have, yes, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last year. It was at a party to raise money for Africans, and there were no Africans in the room, except for me.

Q: What do you think of him?

A: I’ll make a general comment about this whole dependence on “celebrities.” I object to this situation as it is right now where they have inadvertently or manipulatively become the spokespeople for the African continent.

Q: You argue in your book that Western aid to Africa has not only perpetuated poverty but also worsened it, and you are perhaps the first African to request in book form that all development aid be halted within five years.

A: Think about it this way — China has 1.3 billion people, only 300 million of whom live like us, if you will, with Western living standards. There are a billion Chinese who are living in substandard conditions. Do you know anybody who feels sorry for China? Nobody.

Q: Maybe that’s because they have so much money that we here in the U.S. are begging the Chinese for loans.

A: Forty years ago, China was poorer than many African countries. Yes, they have money today, but where did that money come from? They built that, they worked very hard to create a situation where they are not dependent on aid.

[reaganaut1]

The book web site is here .

[xcamel]

That’s gonna leave a mark...

[randog]

That's a hardball interview, one that Bono would never get from the NYT. The interviewee hit homeruns on every question, however. Love this last curve ball:

For all your belief in the potential of capitalism, the free market is now in free fall and everyone is questioning the supposed wonders of the unregulated market.

I wish we questioned the aid model as much as we are questioning the capitalism model. Sometimes the most generous thing you can do is just say no.

[Clock King]

It was at a party to raise money for Africans, and there were no Africans in the room, except for me.

Soft racism of liberals. The African people and the African diaspora are treated and thought of as animals, instead of as human beings with souls.

[IronJack]

Yes, [China has] money today, but where did that money come from?

Us.

[Pharmboy]

I think Ms. Moyo deserves to have her picture posted:

[reaganaut1]

I also noticed that she is a pretty woman :).

[Pharmboy]

Indeed. Her brain is not her only asset. ;-D