Charlie Rose had a must-see interview on his PBS show Wednesday night. Dambisa Moyo, a Zambian woman with a background in global finance, has written a book on the sorry state -- and history -- of aid western governments have given Africa.
You can watch her interview with Charlie Rose here.
And you can buy her book, Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa.
I only just heard of Ms. Moyo's book last night, so I haven't read it. But it is certainly on my list of books to look at next time I'm in a bookstore. If I read the book, I might find an item or two to disagree on. But she seems a breath of fresh air and, I must say the next two guests Charlie Rose had on -- who I am not familiar with -- praised her a bit before giving conventional statements on African aid.
Ms. Moyo is among the precious few willing to confront the basic truth about African aid -- that more than $1 trillion has been "invested" in African aid over the past 50 years. And that, not only are the people not better off -- they are in many ways worse off.
Anyone reading Jim Rogers' globe-trekking books is not surprised by this. Dambisa Moyo's book is getting some important buzz -- a quick Google search reveals reviews in publications such as The Economist -- and let's hope it makes a lasting impact.
She had a feature piece in the weekend section of the WSJ this past Saturday if you are interested. Also, a condescending interview by Deborah Solomon with her in the NYT Magazine a few weekends ago (can't remember the date). Email me if you'd like a copy of either, but I'm sure you have access.
Posted by: David | March 27, 2009 at 08:43 AM
David: Thanks, I'll be sure to check them out. Charlie Rose quoted The Economist in his interview with her.
That the NYT interviewer was condescending is no surprise, unfortunately.
Posted by: John | March 27, 2009 at 03:34 PM
Just wanted to drop in and say thanks for the heads up on the Charlie Rose appearance, and the WSJ article (thanks John and David). I have posted the Charlie Rose video to my blog, with credit to Controlled Greed.
Looks like David beat me to the punch on the NYT piece about Moyo, the "Anti-Bono". Here's the quick link, anyhow:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/magazine/22wwln-q4-t.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss
Posted by: David | March 29, 2009 at 09:44 PM
Thanks, David -- let's hope this book gets the buzz it deserves.
Posted by: John | March 30, 2009 at 09:21 PM