Tomasulo.net

A more cynical, and perhaps somewhat biased take on the NAI from something called the Africa Finance Review. This magazine appears to be the brainchild of three white South African investors, as a mouthpiece for the "real deal" in African investments. If they have their facts straight, they do raise some good points. And these concerns don't even take into account the fact that the western world's focus has shifted dramatically in the last month and a half.

Quote:
But, one may ask, do the chief architects of NAI actually have experience of implementing its objectives? If Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, after due deliberation, were to assert that a Ghana, for example, is capable of rapid economic growth, his record in presiding over rapid economic growth in Singapore would make his assertion credible. President Mbeki and Obasanjo are yet to deliver 4 % GDP growth in South Africa and Nigeria, let alone the 7% trumpeted for Africa. President Boutifleka of Algeria has suffered from several bouts of civil unrest in Algeria this year: he who cannot find domestic peace in Algeria purports to speak for peace throughout Africa. On corrup-tion, the less said the better. As for personal integrity and intelligence as the mark of new African leaders, one only has to recall the likes of the late President Senghor of Senegal and Nyerere of Tanzania to appreciate that Africa has already had some highly intelligent honest leaders inca-pable of delivering rapid economic growth to their citizens. Finally, it is of sad significance that the architects of NAI sought first the endorsement of the G-8 leaders instead of their citi-zens, especially the African capitalist. More money has been transferred out of Africa by Africans unimpressed with the calibre of African leaders than has been received in aid by Africa. Obtaining the approval of the African capitalist class would be more likely to lead to the transfer into Africa of large sums of capital than pleas made to G-8 politicians. It is typically neo-colonial to first obtain the approval at the G-8 Summit and not from Africans