Spot on, it’s called international capitalism.

So are you saying that if the West stopped trying to influence African politics, the dictators and corrupt politicians would topple and the people would establish forward looking democracies?

Yes we should…We can spare it and it is the right thing to do.I would be in favour of a more stringent tracking system for the application of this money to support various programs and more answerability by those entrusted these monies for the same .We should not punish those who cannot be blamed for the corruption of its leadership and are dying as a result of that leadership.

Agreed. What is happening now is that the financial extractors who have been leeching Africa, Asia and Latin America through the IMF have come home to roost in the US and Europe. Capitalism, as predicted is eating its geographical home base now that it has truly gone supranational and offshore.

The alternative has to be to build a transnational solidarity and consciousness in the hopes there will be enough left to salvage when it finally collapses under its internal contradictions. Its literally a human race against the rat-racists who use the super-tribalisms of nationalism to divide their victims while they are globalised and boundary-free.

Much of the aid industry is corrupt and hand-in-glove with multinational extractors, but there are many decent people doing good work.

Check War Games: The Story of Aid and War in Modern Times by Linda Polman. Amazon have copies, as have libraries.

Yep, I’d be more worried about the aid we are currently sending to bondholders while our hospitals are reduced to begging for funds in the street.

Exactly. The Ugandan government spent $740 million dollars on Russian fighter jets and they have more on order. There should be strict conditions on any foreign aid including the basic one that the government of the country receiving it should not squander its resources so shamelessly and should conduct itself in a civilised and compassionate manner towards its citizens.

Completely agree. It’s absurd! Absolutely behind maintaining aid but there has to be some definite policing of how it’s spent. Otherwise there is a huge risk the money is going straight into the hands who use it recklessly

Kevin Myers, ffs, he’s never written a good article on anything. I think it’s important to note whom the aid is targeted at: the poor and vulnerable in some of the world’s most underdeveloped countries, not their government. All this tells me is that we need better checks on how aid is spent and audits.

Eoin you’re entitled to your opinion on Myers but your argument doesn’t make sense. I support aid but how can the poor who need it actually get the aid when the money seems to be skimmed off and put into ridiculous projects like buying fighter jets. Ugandans need top of the range fighter jets like people in the Sahara need sand. If we’re giving money surely it should be directly to Irish charities who are more likely to redistribute to the poor who actually need it. As Myers said handing it straight to corrupt officials is p*ssing money away.

No.It should be distributed to all workers in the public sector ripped off 3 times already .

Pierce: that’s a good idea

The R.C church built all our schools and Uni, when the empires only allowed hedge schools for the poor in Ireland.

A very similar comment by myself may appear somewhere, when I posted my comment above it didn’t actually post so I typed another one. Then this one appeared so apologies. Journal, it’s time to introduce an edit/remove option…

Hey Andrea, I think that’s what the British ruling class said during the Irish famine. Grow a brain FFS!!

My thoughts exactly, Greg.

Perhaps, as Charles Trevelyan said about the Irish Famine, famines in the global south are merely “mechanism for reducing surplus population,”

Ireland has spent 8.5 billion euro on foreign aid since 2001. Quite a chunk of change. We are a generous people(third most generous nation in the world when it comes to charity, on a per capita basis, according to a UN report).

But the current situation is simply unsustainable. We are borrowing billions of euro, at a five per cent interest rate, just to hand it over to corrupt foreign heads of state. Madness. We should defer all foreign aid until we get out of our current financial predicament. When/if we do that, then we can look into reintroducing our aid program.

In the meantime, you are free to donate as much of your own personal wealth to one of the many charities that work in these places as you so wish.

So Kevin, how about Ireland give all the money back that Europe, & America have given. Not to mention the money Australia, Canada & New Zealand gave Ireland under the Anglo Irish Agreement

@ Greg using the British and the famine is ridiculous!We dont rule Uganda so are therefore not obliged to do anything!We never ruled Uganda for 700 years (like the British did with us in the famine!)

@Andrea: The way I look at it is, we need to curtail our aid as we are broke!!!Its that simple..we are 129% of GDP broke!!! We need to put any money we have into our own society and at the same time tell our government that that money is for OUR society and not to be handed to those foreign agents where all the rest of our money has gone!

Why are we giving money to Uganda anyway…a country with a government that actively represses the media, represses political freedom and has been openly persecuting homosexuals whereby an act, the “Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009″ was tabled.The proposed bill went so far as to forbid landlords from renting to a known homosexual, and would ban any public discussion of homosexuality.Thankfully this law was quashed but the intent was there.Do we want to be seen giving money to people who are clearly living in the stone age??I don’t want my money going to these people. I want it going to my people, Irish people, for health,education, job creation and infrastructure!!!Who would give money to a government anyway..they are as corrupt in Europe as in Africa..give it to charities on the ground…then your charity really bears fruit!

There’s a bitter irony to people using computer technology to support not helping people who are at risk of dying of starvation.

Greg I don’t think people are against us giving aid, I think they;d rather wait until we’re in a better position to do so. Nothing wrong with that. Just because we, along with almost every other country in the E.U. received aid before, it doesn’t mean we should automatically dish it back out. There’s a lot to be said for being financially cautious in these economic times. There’s no harm in looking after ourselves first then being charitable especially if the evidence shows it’s not being spent where it’s meant to be.

I’m glad the ‘yes’ vote have only shown 17% so far. I just can’t say that. We’re here to help each other when times are hard no matter where you live in the world. It’s up to the people in charge of these accounts, charities, to keep an eye on the funds.

Sell your laptop and donate the cash to Trocaire so, Donncha.

Donnacha I’m pretty sure the country’s misuse of financial aid has a lot more to answer for than people who spend their hard earned money on a computer…

Kevin Dennis , in my opinion, has said it best . The Daily Mail reports today that this year we will spend €630 million on foreign aid. That would pay the mobility allowance excess of €100 million without age limit and leave €530 million to cover some of our running costs. If you wish to extend the thesis , as a Bailout Country we ought to be getting money , not giving it. Would our pride allow that ?

@ Greg. I have a brain and a pretty darn good one (thanks for your concern). I don’t normally respond to an insult as opposed to a sensible response but for you I will make an exception. It’s ridiculous to compare the Ugandan regime to the plight of the Irish during the Famine and the millions who either lost their lives or left our shores. The Ugandan government are using our money (which we are borrowing) to purchase fighter jets and line their bulging pockets. Our own citizens are going hungry, dying whilst waiting for hospital care, losing their homes etc. I don’t require any additional brain power to realise that this is unacceptable and that any “aid” should be helping our own in these very dire times.

@Rory: I stored reading at “Daily Mail”. Whatever point you were going to make instantly lost any credibility the moment you mentioned that absolute rag

Andrea the question is not about the Ugandan Government. The question is “Should Ireland distribute foreign aid while it is in a bailout?” If you have a brain please use it and distinguish between the two issues

“There’s a bitter irony to people using computer technology to support not helping people who are at risk of dying of starvation.”
Irony? not unless their computer is made from cake.

The irony lies in a country that is cutting child benefit can afford to offer millions to feed the children of a foreign corrupt state.

@greg did those countries just give us free money? And if ye are all for feeding the starving and the poor maybe we should be sending rice and bananas to Uganda people not giving their or any African government for that matter money which we don’t have to give. Feed them with food not fighter jets

Petr – Why should Ireland be responsible for Africa’s problems? The English ruled Ireland during the famine so they were responsible for fixing the problem which they didn’t do. Ireland never colonized Africa so why should the already hard pressed Irish tax payers fork out to corrupt governments? You’re obviously another dole-drawing marxist living in a fantasy land

@George

I was going to answer you, but:
-

“You’re obviously another dole-drawing marxist living in a fantasy land”

-
That’s just baby talk. You’re unworthy of any more of my time.

Technically, isn’t that a reply Petr?! You just made a silly comparison and you can’t realy back it up with anything

@ kevin, thanks for the advice, I already do, and have no problem with some of the tax I pay being used for same.

But you don’t mind paying out billions to corrrupt bondholder private banking cartels, eh Andrea?

I suggest you read a little 6 page pamphlet by an Irish writer from 300 years back.

Its Swift’s ‘Modest Proposal’, and you can google it handy.

Yeah. People who are fine and dandy with paying billions to bondholders but recoil at the thought of giving modest aid to their fellow man/woman really are a moral disgrace.

@George

You may not have noticed, but we’ve been beneficiaries of EU largesse for a while. The European empires have been leeching Africa for a while too.
Subtract our aid budget from the CAP scam and Ireland Inc has a few shekels left to rattle.

And US and EU agribusiness is implicated in African famine through dumping and IMF structural reform programs that force local markets(as they do here) to go for export crops to pay extortionate loan interest.
Try The Globalisation of Poverty, by Michel Chossudovsky.

@ Damien – The EU has benefitted from Ireland’s membership, and I’m not a big fan of the EU or their policies. I’m just saying the Irish worker (I don’t mean the “workers” who wave little red flags around and weat Che Guevara t-shirts I mean the ones who actually work and pay tax) should not have to pay to Africa. If there were ever a call to stop paying it is this.

But the billions to bondholders and the corruption of our own governments down the years give us some moral high ground?

And its not ‘to Africa’, its to certain specific projects, and Irish has respected reputation for being developmentally focussed, rather than tied to kickback contracts and arms deals like a lot of countries, or dumping to support homebase.

You are simplifying complex issues to suit your scrooge reflex. We live on a sphere, not in a flat earth insular cave.

@ Damien – That’s a very socialist / leftist view. We have nothing to do with Africa, and I’m saying “Africa” because it’s faster than naming specific countries. The fact is Ireland is broke and we’re sending millions out in foreign debt to corrupt countries who in return are defrauding the system and what has it achieved? Nothing, that’s what. Africa had it’s chance to get it’s act together but failed, it’s insanity to keep supporting them at our expense. We created mess and those who are responsible should be punished but how in your mind does that justify propping up failed countries? Only a real leftie would hold those views. All we’ll achieve by supporthing African nations is for them to bring more starving people into the world and continue killing each other. It’s time to wake up and look after our people first!

If so thats a very racist flat-earthist monetarist response.
Ireland is ‘broke’ because its still rich, tax-dodging ascendancy ripped the guts out of a potentially sustainable economy in sheer gluttony, with the collaboration of Wall St/Frankfurt/City of London sub-prime split-derivative bad-debt bundlers, and having taken the loss-leader bait are spiked on the IMF Troika debt-trap hook that keeps Africa crippled and corrupt. Our wealth is securely stashed offshore with the other £/$20-30 TRILLION.
This is another decoy of E4 million ‘scandal’ to distract from the billions going to pay a fraudulent debt to a cartel of private banking con-men.
Wake up and lose your ideological blinkers. There is so much trite ignorant disinformation and goosestep tunnel vision in your short paragraph its difficult to know how you get your socks on without Rupert Murdoch’s help..

well said we cannot keep pumping money in to countries that are in fact rich but because their governments are corrupt and as a result of this corruption the people do not benefit from the natural resources that these countries have.

The core problem is a corrupt world government system. We should be focussing on how to get a better deal on our debts or debt forgiveness or default on our loans.
Uganda is only one example of aid projects what about the others, are people willing to let others die when they cut funding to a genuine project or are we happy as long as we put ourselves first?
Its life or death in some of these countries. Aid is yet another example of a corrupt system but convenient for the elite how its only ever the poor who suffer and become indebted as nations and individuals to them for their working lives.
If people want to see our country deteriorate and all the others we support then make sure to keep Enda Kenny poster child of Europe and his government in power. From his actions it seems evident he only supports the bankers and not the average 99% which includes us and Uganda.
We need a government willing to negotiate with the bankers and stand strong for the people. Once we are growing again we can look into our aid projects with more depth and decide where to make changes.
Aid is comprised of different elements e.g. there is multilateral which is from countries to- UN- to Project, then bilateral or direct from us to Uganda for example and lastly the different charities and organisations which are the most effective and efficient.
Im a full supporter of aid being sustainable and should not be endless and corrupt governments should not be given direct aid but usually organisations such as goal, concern and small charities are a lot more efficient at spending their resources and doing more good.

Sean, if the day ever comes that you need help, I hope for your sake that people don’t step over you with that same “not my problem” attitude. Every person on this planet has needed some level of help at some point in their lives. We are lucky to be in a position that we can help others. Yes the country may have debts, yes it’s unfair that we have to pay for the wrong-doings of others. But could you live with withdrawing life-saving help from people who could literally die as a result, just because its not your problem?

Smaller charities don’t have the scale to get value for money or the infrastructure to deliver aid to some of the remote places it is needed.

Claire have a look at this small charity – http://www.foundation-nepal.org/. Humla region is one of the remotest parts of Nepal and they do charity work there. Imagine what more they could do with Government Aid.

Government Aid money will enable smaller charities to do charity work in remote places.

What we have to do is work for justice making such charity redundant.

Much aid is conscience money to compensate for mega-billion resource theft.

Thats what we do already, we don’t give it to goverments usually.

It may begin at home but it doesn’t end there.

You think this all about a bit of charity? Isn’t it about young children perishing on the streets with starvation without a roof over their head and family possibly killed,
learn to distinguish

The phrase ‘charity begins at home’ is a biblical reference to acting indoors as you would outside the home. It does not mean prioritizing those closest to you. In my opinion, charity is at its most powerful when it is difficult for you to give, not when it is easy.

Don’t see how you can give aid to other countries when your own one is billions in debt.

Look after your local situation first, and if there is something left over then engage in these aid programmes is my opinion.

I hate the way people are criticised for just stating the bloody obvious – we are broke and can’t afford it. For those who can, nobody is stopping them from making a donation.

It is like me taking out a bank loan so I can make a donation to a local charity, it just doesn’t make sense.

I really feel sorry for the people in these countries, but unfortunately we can’t play the super heroes right now (maybe the richer nations should step it up?).

This example just goes to show that there needs to be more transparency in what actually happens to the funds provided.

First world problems Carl. People should starve because we’re unable to afford luxuries? Get a grip.

I believe your right,think the guy’s name was Ted Crilly(PP).

Those Indians didn’t borrow to give to us, it’s great to give if you have it. If you borrow money to give to charity that’s just stupid. Also I think we’re still giving money to China which is a bit of a joke

Were the Indians giving to a corrupt government? I didn’t see that part on my google search

I read it… still doesn’t fully justify why we are giving millions when we are effectively bankrupt… its that simple.

Thanks, Sean but I have to disagree with you. It’s far from being ‘that simple’. Judging from some of your comments here you sound like your advocating some form of isolationism (stopping ALL aid would require Ireland to withdraw from international organisations). We experimented with elements of economic self-sufficiency in the 1930s and it was disastrous. As well as the ethical considerations (we are still one of the wealthiest countries in the world) our development aid needs to be seen in the broader context of an ‘active’ foreign policy. It’s not a simple numbers game.

Journal, can you remove this comnent as it is the same as my comnent above which didn’t seem to post initially?

It’s ok I figured out a way to scroll pass it.

People are not starving here. There is a big difference between some people not having as much to eat as they wish and “starving”. You may not want to provide Aid to those that are starving but please don’t compare their suffering with what’s going on here…. it is not the same.

Yeah but the money isn’t going to the starving it’s lining pockets/being misused. We should stop until there is proper accountability or some mechanism to ensure the money we could be using is getting used properly. We are not in a position to just throw money away like this.

There are families starving in Ireland can’t get much worse. Did you see the Q’s for food parcels on the telly the other night. Funding should be made for our own soup kitchens before handing monies over to other countries.Any money left over after our kids are fed fair enough send it on to others.

It’s not as if the Irish are above skimming the pot.

Absolutely we should look after our own! I never said we shouldn’t! I just said we shouldn’t stop foreign aid, for everyone person queuing for a food parcel here, how many children in third world countries are being fed pouches of mush just for nutrients. Abit of compassion in this day and age will go a long way.

Maybe it’s time these 3rd world countries started to look after themselves. We can’t borrow money just give it away!

Oh so it’s ok for us to borrow money to survive, but they have to fend for themselves?

Well Martin how about we lend them money instead of just giving it to them hmm? We are fending for ourselves by borrowing and paying back the money we need to get out of a hole, maybe giving their governments money isn’t the way to help

It isnt a bail out though, its charity. These are countries with far more corrupt leaderships than ours. Enda would run a freakin mile from them.

It’s not the country we giving money to, it’s the people. That’s what it’s supposed to be, i do however think we should be exporting more than money though. It’s knowledge, and techniques for farming and education, giving them the resources to, as others have said , to fend for themselves! But lots of places don’t have these resources.

I don’t think we should stop any aid to these places, but better manage it, so it gets to the people.

Well said Ronan. Decent, compassionate, and true.

True but it shouldn’t be given unless it can be properly accounted for

Yes. Not only is it the right thing to do, surely it is also the christian thing to do? So far 49% seem not to listen in those masses they attend.

NO..and for the simple fact if we can’t feed our own poor never mind anyone elses..its not a Disney film with a fairytale ending..the ship is sinking drop all excess baggage and we might struggle a while longer

Christian thing to do? Seriously?

Think, Vinnie. We can feed ‘our own’ poor, we just don’t. Important distinction. There’s plenty of wealth in Ireland – at issue is how it’s distributed. A good start would be stop handing billions to criminal bankers.

@vinnie, ‘excess baggage’ – classy

Have any if you ever been to Uganda? Never been to Uganda, have spent time with MSF in Kenya, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. They have less than the average homeless person here, nothing. Your reference to these people as “excess baggage” is precisely why these countries have still not entered the 19th century, 21st and 20th centuries aside.
The view that we must look after our own first, every man for himself, is a bit like saying we will close our eyes and pretend we are the worst off, and lick our wounds while we rock back and forth whinging for the return of the Celtic Pussycat.
These people don’t eat for days, they walk miles for basic necessities like water. Sanitation? What’s that? They don’t have an education system to give out about, their health system is provided by aid organisations – when they are allowed in. These people aren’t looking for a world class ranking in economic stability, they are looking to get by, second by second, minute by minute.
Get off your high horses, Uganda got 4,000,000 last year from the Irish. It’s a bit of a cop out when we handed 18,000,000,000 over to the already rich, and say we can’t afford to give pennies by comparison to those who have sweet FA. Charity begins at home, certainly, but you’re forgetting the rest of that saying – it spreads out from the heart and gives with both hands.
Quite your whining – you’re mortifying me.

its part of my point look after your self and when we can support others then do so..
oh you mean the 4million that never got there??money does not go to these charities a lot is eaten up by wages etc like paying for Irish people to go out and help the needy build houses and basic needs costing hundreds per person,the money should be used to train people from the countrys and let them do it a weeks wages is around 10euro..iv never been to Uganda but…

for all the red thumbs IL keep it simple if you personally end up homless nobody really cares they say they do but they won’t. don’t think for a second the next guy wouldn step over you to better themselves.

@James, Uganda spent $650 million last year on war planes. So to hell with them for a start. You get off your high horse buddy.

Vinnie, there are some of those aid workers who go out and help educate farmers and get farms and businesses started. Sadly not all of them, but there are some.

Not a chance we are not in a position to be looking after other countries our efforts should be focused on Ireland and its citizens who are in need . Charity starts at home .

Can I just point out that one of the reasons Uganda spent money on warplanes is because it is involved in at least two wars! While there are many many things to dislike about Uganda’s government, they are the backbone of the fight against Al-Shabab and the LRA (remember that Kony fellow). Spending money on arms is not immoral per se and Uganda needs it more than most for those two wars. The revival of peace in Mogadishu is primarily due to AU soldiery, of which Uganda has the largest contingent. The money Uganda spends on arms is partly money spent protecting the shipping of the rest of the world and stopping the recruitment of child soldiers.

I suspect that this whole thing has a fair bit to do with something else: The accusation of Ugandan involvement in sponsoring militias in the DMC in a recent UN report

That was obviously meant to read DRC.

You can’t compare poverty here to poverty abroad. Apples and Oranges.
We are a wealthy country and even our poor have standards of living far beyond what many Ethiopians could even dream of. The safety net here for people out of work is huge in comparison to other developed countries. Free healthcare, free first, 2nd and University level education as well as easier access to that education. And welfare that far exceeds the European average.

We have First world problems, so what. These people are dying and we’re all human. It’s the moral thing to do.

Julia, you are right of course but Ireland has been identified as one of the ‘best practice’ donors of development aid in the world. Irish Aid have a number of strict implementation guidelines to ensure the aid we give is effective. What happened in this case is the exception, not the norm.

There is: it’s called an Embassy

We as, Somewhat, well off and well educated Humans should be striving to advance ourselves as a people first and foremost. Why should we continue to give to Uganda, especially after what happened? it hasn’t achieved anything? Because it’s the “nice” thing to do right? We need to wake up to reality!

Padraig… your comment to justify foreign aid was borderline ok until you mentioned Queen Victoria…. do you not realise she was the head of state of the colonial country that was indirectly responsible for the devastation that potato blight brought to Ireland. The blight killed our potato crops only… what about other crops?? Oh Im sorry I forgot under the tyrannical rule of the English the Irish lived under a system where all other crops and livestock had to be sold so that they could rent back the farms that were stolen off them in the first place. The potato blight was a natural phenomenan, the deaths of 1,000,000+ was man made.

@Sean Queen Victoria and the English are not to blame for the blight..That was an unfortunate disaster…Yes Westminster did not do much to aid the Irish during the period. It was mainly religious groups (mainly the Quakers) who organised the aid, for example the soup kitchens.

My point on Queen Victoria was that she went against her protocol and donated a large sum(in those days it was) of money to the cause.

I read your article…. very well written and put together. But the simple fact is growth in these countries economies and gdp does not seem to lift millions out of poverty. Also many of these countries claim to be democracies… freedom of speech, human rights, fair voting systems etc but the reality is different on the ground. These faracial elections always corrupt and rigged in favour of a leader who is dictator in everything but name.

On personal level I truly believe the time has come for us in Ireland to stop all foreign aid. if people donate privately fine but our government should not continue throwing money at problems money will never solve.

Who are you to come on here giving lectures? I doubt your country been as generous historically as Ireland has with regard to charity. We need to get rid of our debt before we end up in the same position as these countries – it is as simple as that. BTW – try to make at least a shred of sense when posting from the moral high ground.

i take it your doing H Dip in fairytales and bull.
if you want to fund dictator style government then pay from your own pocket, if you feel the need to contribute to the arsenal of war lord then again feel free to dip into your own funds. We were not given a choice on the amount or destination of our countries revenue being sent. Put the funding into IRISH jobs and IRISH charity and when where back in the black we can be asked as citizens if overseas aid can come out of our pockets.

Who is ‘they’?

I feckin am!!

Thank you Hal, I will report back to Andromeda that we have finally found a trace of intelligent life on Earth.

We were about to give up.

Ah calm down Christopher!