Africa a fashionable cause for the development 'jet set'

by Rasna Warah

Those of us who have worked for, or are working within the development industry are familiar with the many poverty-reduction conferences, seminars and workshops that we have to attend as part of our work, or for what development professionals like to call "networking opportunities." These events usually take place in a location decided upon by the funding agency; the more exotic, the better, and are often considered as "perks" by those who are fortunate enough to be invited.

Of course, once one gets to the venue of the event, one realises that one must possess an international credit card to check into the hotel the organisers kindly arranged for one's accommodation and that other "extras" are not included in the package. This usually means that going to such events actually costs you money. But the prestige of being invited often overshadows the cost of attending because it allows you to be part of an elite group known as the development set.

In the many years that I worked as a development professional, I attended countless such conferences, seminars and workshops. These events allowed me to see many corners of the world and to meet a diverse group of people from many countries.

However, over the years I have realised that the more I travel, the more likely I am to meet the same group of people because the same people keep being invited to the same conferences. This is to due to a variety of factors, some of which include their "star" status within the development community, or simply because they belong to organisations that can afford to fund their travel.

The "hottest" topic on the international development agenda these days is Africa. I don't mean Africa the geographic entity, the birthplace of ancient civilisations, the source of almost all minerals, gems and precious metals in the world, the mother of jazz or even the African people as a race.

No, I mean the Africa that development professionals love to dwell on : the poverty-stricken, disease-ridden Africa that is being managed by kleptomaniacs and dictators. In other words, the Africa that is the raison d'etre of the international development industry; the one that makes Bono, Bob Geldof,Madonna and Angelina Jolie shed tears.

At almost all poverty-reduction seminars and conferences, the word "poverty" is used interchangeably with the word "Africa." To some extent, this association is justified. Africa has the largest proportion of people living in extreme poverty (over 40 per cent), and 34 of the 50 poorest countries in the world are African. The continent also has the largest number of people living with HIV and hunger is a chronic condition in many countries, including those that have good soil, ample rain and diamond-enriched land.

But Africa does not have the largest number of people living in poverty. That distinction belongs to Asia, home to two-thirds of the world's poor. But in recent years, the international community has all but forgotten about Bangladesh or Bhutan, where poverty levels are similar to those of Cameroon or the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The international development community is so committed to improving African lives, that they want to give more money to the continent. Even though sub-Saharan Africa remains the largest recipient of donor funds, it seems unable to climb out of poverty. The reason for this is not so much the fact that African countries are not democratic. Democracy isn't exactly the hallmark of China, which has managed to pull some 200 million people out of poverty in the last 25 years, but because no country in the world has developed through aid alone.

Countries that have managed to reduce poverty have done so through improving economic management, adding value to their products, increasing investment in infrastructure, specialising and investing in key profitable industries, making distribution of wealth and services
more equitable, and ensuring that governance structures are accountable and sustainable.

Unfortunately, these issues are rarely discussed at poverty-reduction seminars and conferences.

Daily Nation