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Blame Bono

In her book, Dead Aid, the Harvard and Oxford educated economist Dambisa Moyo makes two major arguments: first, that aid to Africa does not work in its current form, and second, that the glamorization of African causes by celebrities is counter-productive. There are many compelling reasons why, according to Moyo, aid is bad: it creates dependency, it doesn't promote entrepreneurship, it helps corrupt governments, and it doesn't strengthen accountability between the state and its people.

For a Zambian-born woman, it's a bold argument to make - and I like it. Looking at the current state of many African countries, especially those with plentiful natural resources, we can see that they are still impoverished (though China's swooped in in places like Nigeria and Sudan - more on this in later blogs). Moyo promotes microfinance instead of aid, with which organizations give small loans to Africans who then use the credit to finance their own small business ventures. This way, the money helps people directly, and stimulates the economy in the process.

But my favourite point of Moyo's is about celebrities and their impact on the continent. Here's what she said in the New York Times about famous people: “I object to this situation as it is right now where they have inadvertently or manipulatively become the spokespeople for the African continent."

What do you think? Do celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Natalie Portman, George Clooney, and Bob Geldof help raise awareness about AIDS, poverty, and other issues? Or do you think they obscure with their fame the message they're supposed to be sending? Is it out of the sheer goodness of their hearts? Or a selfish desire to raise their own profiles?

One more question: what do you think about the wraparound, blue-tinted shades of a certain (*cough* U2) singer?