In the past three years, we have doubled primary school enrollment nationwide, refurbished hundreds of health facilities, begun rebuilding roads and restoring electricity. We have taken steps to root out corruption and remove unscrupulous officials. Growth has exceeded several percent per year. And, most critical, we are at peace.Still, old habits die hard. Liberia was kept afloat for decades through American assistance and it appears that she still can not see a way past that type of assistance:
The G8 nations meeting in Italy this week have a useful role to play. Among other measures, they must keep their promises to increase aid and make it more effective by reducing bureaucratic delays, speeding disbursements and better aligning programs with African priorities. Effective aid is certainly not the only answer, but it has an increasingly vital role to play as other sources of finance dry up.The justification -- that "other sources of finance" have dried up is novel, though.
p.s. the title of this post is a reference to my favorite West African novel. Know which one?
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