Comments for Idasa's Weblog

Comment on White Refugee in Canada … by anon

anon — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 21:57:39 +0000

Interesting how USA and Canada make the distinction White / Black. That is where the root of the problem is. If the man is French -> then call him French.. If the man is Nigerian – then he is Nigerian. Have at least that much respect for ones culture would you. I cant count all the teeth i knocked out of dumb americans for calling me a white boy

Comment on The winners eat and the losers don’t … by Bron

Bron — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 06:51:57 +0000

“That poverty undermines the functioning of democracy is an understatement worthy of the Nobel Prize for Understatements.”
I like that. Our NGO-speak often robs us of meaning, lulls us into complacency, I think. Thanks for this Stefan, your frankness and reminder how desperately Africa needs our skills and hard work is best end-of-year letter to us all.

Comment on Government Committed to Priorities – SA Budget by Kurt Amo

Kurt Amo — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:38:22 +0000

Hello, I have just come across your blog while browsing on Google as I am researching some information on debt relief!. It is a very interesting blog so I’ve bookmarked you and I will return another day to give it a proper browse when I can give it more time.

Comment on Human Rights and Prisoners – Zimbabwe by Pretty Mupfurutsa

Pretty Mupfurutsa — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:07:48 +0000

Am writing on the prisons in Zimbabwe would appreciate more information am a student at the University of Zimbabwe.

Comment on What the ANC Needs Now … by teenoie

teenoie — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:55:39 +0000

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Comment on Live or Dead Aid – Who is responsible for development in Africa? by Justin

Justin — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:00:55 +0000

There are three issues which I find in her book which are disturbing.
1) Her politics relies on typical economist ideas that democracy is wasteful when it comes to allocating resources. In this, her views echo that of Joseph Schumpeter. In the absence of democracy, where are the human rights or should everything just become subject to the will of the egocrat? Her politics lacks a cogent explanation of human rights.
2) Apart from her dubious orientation towards rights and democracy, the notion of aid as dead ignores that aid has enabled development to occur in once dead markets. Infrastructure requires a market and in the absence of a revenue generating base or market, aid is the next best thing. Thousands of kilometers of road have been paid for by donors and the secondary impacts and positive spinoffs cannot be ignored.
3) Aid is not the problem. It is the wasteful political culture that permits tinhorn dictators to call themselves democrats and to have paper democracies all the while feathering their own nests. Corruption occurs in every country but in countries where every cent counts, corruption is felt more acutely. Even aid is mismanaged and pilfered by these pathogenic political elites who more often than not collaborate with a self-serving neo-colonial agenda. Bob Mugabe is one such example: he steals land under the guise of restitution and profits buy selling whatever that land produces to MNCs’. The new neo-colonialism is the governing elite’s behaviour.
It is not a question of aid inculcating dependency but of political elites robbing their own people. The last thing we need is a justification giving them more of an excuse to take on more executive powers, which is what Moyo’s theory of development does. Many may think that her ideas are plausible but she is nothing more than a political Stalinist and an economic Leninist.

Comment on NPC – new framework for policy and delivery in SA by Justin

Justin — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:46:35 +0000

I am simply curious. To what degree is the NPC an ideological response rather than a response based on necessity?
It appears that this planning commission augurs the rise of the uber-nanny state in which participation is disallowed if it challenges the dominant player. Where is the consultation beyond ‘groot koppe’ in the tripartite alliance? Does this close space for public participation to the extent it appears to do?

“President Zuma has been unwilling to wage in on key discussions thus far and it may very well come down to the political nous showed by the various players within Cabinet and the broader Tripartite Alliance.”

Comment on Your Right to Know … by Beyond Elections … « Idasa’s Weblog

Beyond Elections … « Idasa’s Weblog — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:32:40 +0000

[...] Beyond Elections … Posted on September 18, 2009 by idasa In celebration of Right-to-Know Day on 28 September, Idasa is screening a documentary entitled, Beyond Elections: Redefining Democracy in the Americas. See the trailer below. And read more about Right to Know day here – http://idasa.wordpress.com/2009/09/27/your-right-to-know/ [...]

Comment on Beyond Elections … by Your Right to Know … « Idasa’s Weblog

Your Right to Know … « Idasa’s Weblog — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:41:52 +0000

[...] Right to Know Day, Idasa has a range of activities planned – starting with the screening of a documentary about participatory budgeting in Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela. Beyond the documentary, [...]

Comment on NPC – new framework for policy and delivery in SA by NPC – new framework for policy and delivery in SA « Idasa's Weblog « Strategic Planning

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:46:04 +0000

[...] Go here to read the rest: NPC – new framework for policy a… [...]