Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Mozambique: Aid Does Work
The UK Independent on how aid to Africa isn't all wasted:
It is rare to hear any success stories from Africa. Mozambique, with its history of war, famine, misguided Marxist experiments, natural disasters and the creeping horror of Aids, should be a typical African basket-case. But in a continent with so many countries on their knees, this one offers hope - and perhaps inspiration to the G8 leaders meeting today in Gleneagles. Economic growth has averaged 8 per cent a year for the past 11 years, one of the fastest rates in the world. Fuelled by two rounds of debt relief - the latest, just last month, was reckoned to be worth $57m - growth is set to accelerate further. The streets of Maputo, the capital, once a byword for decay, are beginning to fill again with tourists. One side of a high-rise building carries a giant portrait of Kelly Holmes's great rival, Maria Mutola; Mozambique's only Olympic gold medallist is advertising mobile phones.The article (which is free for now, but not for long) goes on to mention Ethiopia, Uganda and even Rwanda as places in Africa where things are looking up.
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