How about another Marshall Plan?
Posted July 24th, 2008 by beruk
Here in Africa we are all talking about the MDGs and how this ingenious plan is suppose to deliver us from poverty. We are in 2008, and it is in 1990 that the MDGs were crafted. It’s been eighteen years and I am just beginning to understand what the whole deal is about. What infuriates me is that eighteen years on, not everyone is aware of this ambitious plan, in fact the majority of the so called “beneficiaries” don’t know anything. Back in school I remember learning about the Marshall Plan and how it literarily saved war-torn Europe from Poverty in an effective way and in a very short time.Now I’m thinking… is the MDG the African version of the Marshall Plan?I think not, because there are barely seven years left and the progress achieved in some countries still falls short from meeting the set goals. Let’s not even go and attack our failed leaders for this, one of the criteria that needed to be met by the western stakeholders, is that they should donate 0.7% of their GDP for the developing countries, which currently only the Netherlands does.Maybe the MDG is not being taken seriously by everyone and on top of that all the financial aid that the “third world” countries receive has always political conditions.It may sound a bit too presumptuous, but couldn’t the West come up with an “African Marshall Plan???” I believe that it was possible to do a whole lot better in the way aid was conduct in our continent and what it really needed was the simple willingness. What Africa needs is an unconditional aid to support its efforts in the sustainable socio-economic development since, it is the only continent that has gotten poorer by the year for the last couple of decades, so wouldn’t you say that it’s high time for a new Marshall Plan for our continent, call it the “Obama Plan”? Just maybe…
I pretty much agree that Africa needs a marshall plan.
But in the same breadth, i want to offer some insights to the MDGs, to clarify first the MDGs were signed up in 2000, in realisation that the unequal balance manifest in the decade of the 1990s need to exist no more. Moreso the question of poverty had moved from being a third world specific agenda to a global agenda, for an equilibrium to be achieved.
A closer look at the efforts the African Governments are making towards the same declaration offer hope. Many of the governments, in their annual budgets have developed MDG focused budgets as a means of localising the same. They have confirmed to certain protocols, such as the 15% allocation from the budget to health (Abuja Declaration), the 10% allocation to Education. Many governments have gone above these committments.
An analysis of a goal per goal vis vis different countries will show that the MDGs are not ambitious enough, and are not a pipe dream. They are achieveable and are being achieved. The mandate should be to reflect on what individual role we are playing, instead of harping on the 0.7% ODA, we should emphasis on campaigning for a level partnership that will be accomplished in trade rather than aid, the first step to interrogating, Goal 8, on global partnership for development.
We should consolidate the gains made so far, in line with the governments committments on the MDGs, to truly actualise the African Marshal plan, as for Obama, he remains an American with American interests to propagate no matter how mellow he Africanises.
its time to prove on how beautiful our continent is. I love Africa.
africa may not need marshal plan. development doesnt mean going to where europe and america are. this is planned dvpt. Africa needs to choose what type of dvpt she needs instead of being shown where and how to develop.
mdgs, is the way for other guys toshow us a way to exploitation by colonising ourminds.
we need to be careful on decisions made for us by foreigners with our leaders
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