(cont'd, content from Dead Aid)
According to author Dambisa Moyo, foreign aid to African governments (in addition to encouraging a climate for corruption) actually hinders the recipient country from moving ahead economically.
There's an accurate worldwide perception that African leaders have "crowned themselves in gold, seized land, handed over state business to relatives and friends, diverted billions to foreign bank accounts, and generally treated their countries as giant personalized cash dispensers." She calls it "rank corruption" on a "stupendous scale."
The "diverted billions" should have been invested in public goods and infrastructure. Instead, it's been a sort of jackpot for winning the power struggle and may go to the winner's armies who keep him in power. Ordinary wealth-creating businesses, meanwhile, entail more risk where the government is not accountable to the people.
Dr. Moyo did a TED Talk summarizing Dead Aid in 2009 which you can see here.
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