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Editorial
"Sometimes it falls
upon a generation to be great. You can be that great
generation" – Nelson Mandela
| Main | News | Dhivehi | Editorials | Opinions | Open Forum | About Maldives | Downloads | About us | Links | 13 October 2006 05:16
"Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation" – Nelson Mandela
February 6, 2005
At a time when poverty and economic turmoil looms at large following the tragedy of December's tragic Asian Tsunami, International Aid-donors are now in doubt as to how to manage world-poverty.The G7 summit that was in session started off with a bitter note as soon as they found themselves at crossroads about the issues of debt-relief in third-world countries. The British Chancellor Gordon Brown's optimistic plans (with the support of France, Germany and Italy) to sell bonds on the International Capital Markets were to raise funds to finance 100bn/year write-offs to Africa's poorest of nations and the rest of the Least-developed countries have fiercely met resistance.
"Not only does the IFF not work for the United States, we don't need the IFF" John Taylor, the undersecretary of the United States Treasury told reporters right before he began travelling to London. With the opposition of the United States towards such an ambitious plan, it is unlikely that the rest of the wealthy nations might come to an agreement as to how to eliminate International Poverty any time soon. Countries which desperately need the International Donor aid like the Maldives have no hope at all towards improving human welfare atop of the incompetence in the civil sector by the incumbent Government
The drift created amidst the wealthy nations of the world, not only over IFF but including issues such as providing technical assistance and increasing aid-donations - has profound implications on countries like ours. With the dismal level of mismanagement and corruption rampant, any hopes to restore the economy and the social welfare of the people is minmal.
Although the international donors have gone out of their way to be generous to the people of Maldives in the past and in our current catastrophe, we should not make the mistake of thinking that these funds are sustainable for decades. The present aid-donations and technical assistance being pledged will not come as promised, pending on the assessment of the consistency and results produced by the Governments to which these donations are handed over to manage. The bankers and financial experts meeting in London, who are consorting on their efforts regarding such screening procedures strain on the necessity to ensure that the aid reaches out to the people who need them most. The experiences in the African continent and South America and most recently the scandal involving the United Nations over embezzlement renders a tension amidst all parties concerned. While donors do not wish to make ducks and drakes out of the aid-money, the widely held contention now is that by closely monitoring the activities of corrupt Governments (that is, Governments which have minimal transparency in its' Financial/Democratic Institutions and a skewed judicature like ours), International Monetary Authorities can advice the donors about the countries in which their aid-money can be effective.
Despite such good intentions, countries which are unable to maintain legitimacy and credence in their purpose and deliver aid to the poor are now being made to be responsible and responsive. This time around, it is believed that the efforts go beyond the scope of the Wealthy Donor-nations and further into the affairs of the impoverished themselves. Regarding this, an International effort will be made between donors and third-world to establish a dialogue whereby, discrepancies and inconsistencies will be called to attention.
IN this context, we can now consider the implications for Maldives. Although having satisfactory relations with a few International Institutions like the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Maldivian Government is well kept at bay when it comes to monetary assistance from the West. The American Invasion of Iraq having ushered in "The March of Freedom and Liberty" as the verbal-mascot-equivalent for globalisation, the Maldivians nor Foreign Donors can shrug off the fact that we've been giving refuge to a totalitarian brute for the last two and a half decades. With almost two-third of our economy heavily dependent on tourism, we cannot expect to export this product which has been of late, dubbed as "unethical tourism"- owing to the exploitation from Industrialists and politicians like the ones in the Maldives. The Maldives being one such country which is desperately dependent on tourism, it should employ an alternative course to steer clear from all such accusations and ensure we attain financial stability.
Our future being at stake, it would be disastrous (as in the case of the recent Tsunami) that one day we find ourselves in the same footsteps after a natural disaster or some other external economic shock were to affect us as severely in say, another 10 or 20 years. We've ignored it in the past. Can we still afford to do the same?
Putting President Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom in-charge of the reform process has 'disaster' written all over it. The unfolding UN-Iraq oil-money scandal is neither the first nor the last wake-up call to International aid donors, the United Nations (ironically) and European Countries about the importance of properly assessing the credibility of the Governments which they assist. It is time for Maldivians to understand that neither aid-donors nor tourists would come back as long as we have an International Money-launderer cum dictator at the helm of our Nation. Quoting Former-president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela at the speech he gave at Trafalgar Square –
"Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings"
Irrelevant of the fact that in Maldives there is no apartheid, the connotation of this particular message should be clear to us all. The roots for our misery, poverty, aggression, suppression and injustice are all man-made. The man who is responsible for it still is at large and roaming around in his fiefdom in all grandiose. How clear can the message be put? If our votes and liberty to rule ourselves have meant to be anything to us, then, is it not our duty toward our children and unborn generations to alleviate them of the same agony we've been suffering? To quote one last phrase:
"Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation" – Nelson Mandela, Trafalgar Square- London
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