The Australian government reports that it is contributing $15 million over five years to the African Governance Facility.
The tone of the release is questionable to my ears (it seems to imply that African people don’t know how to govern themselves and that all African governments and NGOs are corrupt), but what got me most was this statement:
“Australian experience in implementing public sector reform will be used to encourage governments to be more responsive in the delivery of essential services.”
One wonders if these are the essential services, such as health and welfare services, services that the government is continuing to privatise and continually under fire from opposition parties for not delivering.
Another post, however, made my blood boil. The PM is continuing to push the well and truly discredited line the trade liberalisation benefits developing countries. In fact, he’s decided to throw another $1 million into the fray to help “Commonwealth developing countries identify, manage and benefit” from increased trade and investment liberalisation.
Hey John – when was the last time you read what Joseph Stiglitz has to say. Or perhaps you missed that bit where the IMF admitted that “forcing developing countries to open their markets to foreign investors could increase the risk of financial crises”.
Instead of pushing trade liberalisation, how about we join the G20+ in condemning US and EU farming subsidies? How about stopping the double standards?