The World Boink
Paul Wolfowitz, the head of the World Bank has been in the news recently under a cloud of allegations that he tried to hook-up his girlfriend with some perks. Anyway, I don’t want to dwell on Wolfowitz’s history of corruption, except to say that I run into an article in Harper’s magazine written by a journalist named Ken Silverstein. This journalist seems to have an interest in Africa and has written very interesting articles that provide inside details on how various dictators across the continent have colluded with foreign nationals and foreign corporations to scheme their countries off billions of dollars.
This week, Silverstein has an interesting article on not just Wolfowitz, but the world bank in general. I’ll tell you what, those Ph.d Economists at the world bank are not a bunch of naive intellectuals. They are just as corrupt and entrenched as the man they are accusing (and also very incompetent – Silverstein highlights how and why none of the World Bank’s prescriptions for Africa have ever worked) and he mentions that the few countries (mainly in Asia), that have succeeded in developing economic policies that actually work, have done so because they’ve rejected proposals submitted to them by the world bank and have come up with their own ideas(It looks like Kenya is finally beginning to do this with programs like the CDF fund and free primary school education).
I guess Africans have to get away from this idea that a mzungu, who’s never lived or worked in your country, knows more about it than you! I think that’s what the Indians did — they just had more confidence in their own abilities and I’ll say this again: I have never been impressed with any of the Indians I have interacted with in America, either through a call center based in Bangalore or with Indian programmers that I have tried to hire for my websites. These people are not smarter, they’re just more confident. I don’t know if Kenyans in Kenya, who haven’t dealt with outsourced Indian workers realize this. The only thing India has on us is numbers. They have one billion people, we have 30 million, but we can trounce them when it comes to issues like having better accents and a more pleasant phone manner.
KE,
!!!!!
I remain deeply disappointed that my visit to the World Bank was a few days short of the drama that unfolded in the very atrium where I stood. Jeers and boos at Wolfowitz! I can only fantasize on the theatre of it all
That being said, in my view the present scandal surrounding Wolfowitz is a red herring. Let me unfold the plot…….it is becoming increasingly clear that Africa has better friends in the Development industry when conservatives or ultra conservatives take over. For one, they don’t believe in the International Development mandate and try their best to disengage from initiatives unless there is truly demonstrable progress. Secondly, they are less hypocritical and disingenious and are very comfortable stating the obvious :”Guess what Third World folks, nobody cares about your problems but you…..fix them.” Enter Wolfowitz to the stage.
Wolfowitz is a neo-con as has been repeated ad nauseum, he is not a libertarian….neo-cons rarely are but he does believe in the supremacy of the private sector transforming lives. To this end, he also believes in grassroots entrepreneurship. Wolfowitz quickly created enemies with the Europeans when he took over the World Bank because he told them that he thought their ’social engineering’ agenda was bogus, their emphasis on social welfare ineffective and his agenda for engaging with Africa based on demonstrable performance and effectiveness. For those entrenched in the ‘AID gospel’, this was sacrilage!
Under Wolfowitz, the World Bank has started to re-create itself. Why, he is a pragmatist and realizes that the WB is quickly becoming irrelevant. Two, China………has more bearing on geo-political developments going forward. Its time to change our MO……..suddenly the IFC has teeth and is pursuing investment deals with SMEs throughout the continent at break neck speed, all of a suddent the WB is bypassing governments and engaging directly with the domestic private sector, even offering competitive GRANTS to entrepreneurs. The African Development Bank has been given a very, very, very long leash…….Donald Kaberuka at its helm is taking no prisoners.
This has pissed off A LOT OF EUROPEANS including the IMF. What the paternalism and dependency is being discouraged….Wolfowitz must go!!!!!! And so my favorite neocon finds himself in this hapless situation. Unsurprisingly, there are rumours that the African constituency at the WB will tip the scales in his favor……..Dubya sees through the smoke and mirrors just as many Africans do!
Sijui:
I was no fan of wolfowitz’s, mainly due to his stance on the war and his totally biased pro-israeli positions. However, the article in Harpers does talk about what you just mentioned. Namely, the bureacrates at the WB making 300K a year, not including perks, who for too long, have not had performance benchmarks that, in any other industry they would have had. If you do get a chance, browse through silversteins article. It’s really an indictment of the WB bureacrats.
I don’t like the European system of social welfare, particulary in France where it appears to have failed. However, look at Norway….they seemed to have figured out a good balance between capitalism and socialism.
I think Kenya will eventually get it right because we have a well educated middle class. Places like Somalia and Chad….well, you can just hung that up!
There’s a lot of truth to the idea that the knives had long been sharpened for Wolfowitz, but he is a war criminal and a truly evil man, so just like Saddam ( who died an illegal and shameful death) it matters little how Wolfie goes.
KE,
Allow me to register my shock at two things.
a)That there is a Kenyan who is not pro-Israel. You must be terribly civilised and well-read.
b)connected to the first. The notion that there is an educated Kenyan middle-class is a fallacy, ama you are an alchemist? I don’t disagree that there are large numbers of Kenyans bearing papers and all manner of qualifications, but they are hardly educated, or civilised. Superstition, religion, etc still have to strong a hold on our national make-up, too many of us are full of faith, and lacking reason.
On Social Democracy,
Sarkozy the American-wannabe is looking to undo it in France, so no worries. Soon all of Europe will be with the fascists. Again?
emmo:
I am often alone in my anti-israeli depictions. Although the disastrous war in Iraq has moved more kenyans away from their anti-arab sentiments. The lack of American help after the bombing of the u.s. embassy also angered many kenyans.
I have never understood why more kenyans have been unable or unwilling to connect what the israeli’s are doing to the palestinians to what the boers did to the black south africans or even, to what the british did to kenya during colonialism. It’s the same thing.
Isn’t sakorzy’s father a Hungarian jew who run away to france during hitlers time? How pro-israel can he be in a country where 20% of the population are arabs?
On Kenya’s middle class: I agree with you on the proliferation of religion into all realms of life. It’s borderline fanatical, especially considering that it is a FOREIGN religion that was forcefully imposed on us. I don’t get it.
Hmmmm you guys have some insightful perspectives on Israel…..I was always under the impression that Kenyans were lukewarm at best about Israelis, seen in the same light as Indians and that by and large most Kenyans are far more pro-Arab than pro-Israeli. I have never had the impression that Kenyans are pro-Israel. Emmo can you shine some more light on this?
Personally, I am ambivalent about both groups. Arabs are the most racist people on earth and they especially believe that it is their divine right to treat Africans/Blacks as dogs
That being said, Israelis are no cup of tea either. If I had to choose between the two……Israelis hands down.
Wolfowitz……well love him or hate him, I cut him some slack because I believe he personifies 80% of the American population. Perhaps most Americans are not as rabid as him in the quest for the American empire but by and large Americans believe in exerting their military might to protect their interests and keep everyone in line. I blame the American people not Bush and Co. for the Iraq mess. Bush and Co. just materfully pushed their right buttons.
Wolfowitz does not represent the views of 80% of the American people. Remember, roughly 50% of the US population has been opposed to this war from the very beginning. Bush was re-elected with a very slim majority (I believe it was 52%).
Wolfowitz is not even an economist by training. He is a political scientist. His Phd. is not in Economics. He run away to the world bank because he thought that helping poor countries would help banish his war mongering image. Remember, the reasons he gave for invading iraq were that war could be used to IMPOSE democracy and economic justice. No regard was given to the thousands of innocent iraqi’s who have been killed as a result of this man’s lunatic theoretical ideas!!
Almost half a million iraqis have died – for what? so wolfowitz and his chicken hawk neo-cons could prove this crazy intellectual idea that they had??
KE, 50% at the very beginning?????????????????????!!!!!!! You’re kidding right??????????????????? You must be! The Iraq war was overwhelmingly supported by the American people! We can dig up the votes in Congress to see the scale of conscientious objectors. How many dissenting Senators and Congressmen, do you think if 50% of Americans opposed this war there would have been the level of debate we had? Oh yeah! back in the days of Freedom Fries and Support our troops mania!
Americans only soured on this war when there was irrefutable evidence they were losing, and as for George Bush, it is a testament to the popularity of his policies that he WON despite a well established record of mediocrity and incompetence. Americans fully supported this war because they wanted to teach the Ayrabs a lesson, nothing more….nothing less. Ask any heartland American, they never bought that democracy BS what they did buy was “they hate our freedoms, they have weapons of mass destruction that can be used to inhibit our energy supplies…..enough said!”
Definitely Wolfowitz has blood on his hands but there is collective guilt! If Americans were so appalled by their foreign policy Bush would have been gone long ago! I don’t believe that Americans were gullible sheeple led astray by an evil cabal of Jews, people must account for their electoral decisions especially when they countenance killing people for the protection of their freedoms.
Excerpt taken from http://www.americanthinker.com....._iraq.html
“This was the original Bush Doctrine — a bold, muscular vision that emphasized the use of overwhelming military force to protect our national security. Although President Bush also said that we were going ‘to free’ the Iraqi people, there was nothing in the President’s invasion announcement that indicated we were about to embark on a long—term struggle to make Iraq safe for democracy.
Public opinion polls show that the American people strongly supported the invasion of Iraq. For example, a CBS News poll from March 22, 2003, reported that 72 percent of adults nationwide approved ‘of the way George W. Bush is handling the situation with Iraq,’ while only 23 percent disapproved. A USA Today/Gallup poll from March 24—25, 2003, reported that 71 percent of adults approved of the President’s actions in Iraq, while only 26 percent disapproved. And an ABC News/Washington Post poll from April 27—30, 2003, reported that 75 percent of adults approved of the President’s actions, while only 22 percent disapproved.”
Sijui:
You have come after me with evidence in hand. So, I guess I have to look for my own evidence to back up my polling conclusions. Look, a lot of democrats were very upset with their congressmen for not voting against this war(that’s why hillary is having a harder time against Obama right now) and that’s why kerry lost (he refused to take a clear stand) . I will look for my polling data, but I doubt we’ll agree on this point.
Were Americans led astray by a bunch of right-wing Jews? I don’t think it’s that simple. I think the right-wing press and the republican propaganda machine did a good job of selling their lies by playing to the fears brought on by 9/11.
I’m not surprised Americans bought the lies. The average American I’ve encountered knows next to nothing about the rest of the world. I would hate to raise children in America because they would really grow up to be geo-politically ignorant.
From CBS News: I guess it depends on the way you ask the question.
IS RESULT OF WAR IN IRAQ WORTH ITS COSTS?
Now
Yes
32%
No
64%
7/2005
Yes
34%
No
59%
5/2004
Yes
29%
No
64%
12/2003
Yes
42%
No
47%
9/2003
Yes
41%
No
53%