We really, really liked this TED talk by Ugandan journalist Andrew Mwenda from 2007. He was talking about Africa, in general, not Zimbabwe in particular, but it all translates.  Some good stuff and jaw-dropping statistics in here.

Top 10 highlights include:

1. The average African country receives aid that is 13 – 15% of its GDP.  (Eek!)
2. The Western media gives a distorted and inaccurate view of African reality (Yes!!! We hate that!) They focus on despair and hopelessness, civil war, hunger, famine.  This may be a reality, but it is not the only reality
3. The effect of this media coverage is to inspire pity and charity in the West. (Exactly! Not partnership and progress. Grrr!)
4. This strips Africa of self-initiative. (Strips it bare, y’all!)
5. Yes, Africa has fundamental weaknesses but it also has opportunities and a lot of potential.
6. We need to shift the African ambition from “poverty reduction” to “wealth creation.” (We want to high five this point so bad!)
7. Sending someone to school and giving someone medicine does not create wealth for them. (Eh?  Sorry, Mr. Mwenda, here we vehemently disagree.  Sending someone to school empowers then to create wealth for themselves. Pamberi nekudzidza!)
8. Who do you know who ever became rich by holding out a begging bowl? (Who indeed?)
9. Africa’s inability to engage the world in a more productive relationship is due to a poor institutional and policy framework. (Is this a euphemistic way of saying that all African governments, except Botswana’s, are a hugely disappointing mass of predictably corrupt and/or backward-looking thuggery? This is a question, not a statement.  Please don’t hurt us.)
10. Not all aid is destructive. The mistake the international trade community is to identify singular successes and duplicate them across the entire African continent, without taking into account the specific and unique nuances of different areas.

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