UK and wealthy states revel in their generosity while allowing their companies to plunder Africa's resources, say NGOs
By Mark Anderson
theguardian.com, Tuesday 15 July 2014
Western countries are using aid to Africa as a smokescreen to hide the "sustained looting" of the continent as it loses nearly $60bn a year through tax evasion, climate change mitigation, and the flight of profits earned by foreign multinational companies, a group of NGOs has claimed.
Although sub-Saharan Africa receives $134bn each year in loans, foreign investment and development aid, research released on Tuesday by a group of UK and Africa-based NGOs suggests that $192bn leaves the region, leaving a $58bn shortfall.
The report says that while western countries send about $30bn in
development aid to Africa every year, more than six times that amount
leaves the continent, "mainly to the same countries providing that aid".
The
perception that such aid is helping African countries "has facilitated a
perverse reality in which the UK and other wealthy governments
celebrate their generosity whilst simultaneously assisting their
companies to drain Africa's resources", the report claims. It points out
that foreign multinational companies siphon $46bn out of sub-Saharan
Africa each year, while $35bn is moved from Africa into tax havens
around the world annually.
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