In the Friday edition of the Financial Times, Rwandan President Kagame wrote in an opinion piece that many world leaders "...still believe they can solve the problems of the poor with sentimentality and promises of massive infusions of aid, which often do not materialize. ..."
Citing Dambisa Moyo's book, Dead Aid, Kagame said that "...the cycle of aid and poverty is durable: as long as poor nations are focused on receiving aid they will not work to improve their economies. ..."
Kagame added that "...often, aid has left recipient populations unstable, distracted and more dependent; as Ashraf Ghani, the former finance minister of Afghanistan, has pointed out, it can even sever the relationship between democratically elected leadership and the populace. ..."
He also said that although "...we appreciate support from the outside ... it should be support for what we intend to achieve ourselves. No one should pretend that they care about our nations more than we do; or assume that they know what is good for us better than we do ourselves. They should, in fact, respect us for wanting to decide our own fate. ...
While this is encouraging, we know the road to prosperity is a long one. We will travel it with the help of a new school of development thinkers and entrepreneurs, with those who demonstrate they have not just a heart, but also a mind for the poor." [Financial Times]
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