Cracking down on African banks..
Excellent article by Paul Collier on the need to crack down on African banks who are complicit in fraudulent capital flight on the part of elites, here. As aid budgets get cut from Western governments, its time to put pressure on African banks to ensure that the money planned for political diversion stays in country and is used to benefit the citizenry..
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Fascinating! I agree with the writer. It's killing two birds with one stone: British banking system gets some sanitation, African banks learn how to keep money where it ought to be.
You know, aid is one of the most embarrassing aspects of Africa's encounter with poverty. At least in my mind. Why? It's not just that it's beggarly, but that...I mean, how can the same country where Senator Ette stole an upwards of 1 billion naira be asking for pittances from international bodies to build infrastructure.
The money fashola used to build the BRT thing (as imperfect as it is) is a mere pinch of what Ette and her likes will steal in this administration alone. What this shows is that development is not that pricey.
Why should world bank give a Nigerian governor 200 million dollars for clean water in his state (money that he will still eat) when the same guy will end up stealing ten times that amount without stress?
Aid money is wasted on Nigeria, better to target poor African countries that are serious about development of their people. Nigeria does not need aid or aid money. Nigeria has millions of well educated people, lots of money from oil & gas, excellent geography for agriculture, and lots more......so what's missing? It's all in the mind.
Paul Collier is an outstanding voice on development issues at present... 'The Bottom Billion' explains the traps developing countries are in.
Biography page here
Lecture (video) here
uk high street banks banks are in the process of being nationalised...Sorry for nigerian banks
The ultimate aim of the banking system as we know it is to make a profit and it was the blind and greedy pursuit of profit (plus the failure of regulatory systems), that landed the world in the current financial crisis in the first place.
I think that governments of the major industrialised countries, being now forced to bail out their banks in order to restore a measure of stability to the economy, are likely to be even less concerned about Africa than they were before. The reason is that taxpayers' money invested in the banks must be seen to yield a profit, otherwise several political reputations risk being ruined.
Banks in the West will be willing to continue to do business with African banks, insofar as business continues to be as profitable as it has always been. Money will continue to flow from African banks to places like the Cayman Islands and the Channel Islands, and then to mainland Europe and the USA. And as Mr Collier correctly pointed out, the legal systems of the developed world, move a lot slower than the money does..
I don't see banks in the new dispensation being particularly concerned about whether or not money has been looted from Africa. This is not a consideration that will hold a lot of weight in the scheme of things, despite the fact that governments (who in the past have demonstrated a desire to aid Africa) will themselves hold a significant stake in the banks. The need to make profit will override any misgivings that some might have.
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