United States Ambassador to Zambia, Michael C. Gonzales, has highlighted America’s previous role in corruption and bad governance that stunted growth over the decades, particularly in African nations.
In an explosive article, “Breaking the Cycle of Foreign Assistance Enabling Corruption,” published by the State Department, Gonzales decried how the U.S. doled out funds to governments without holding them to account.
“What is needed for economic growth and development is not more money, but sound reforms that incentivize enduring private investment and growth,” he asserted, noting that Africa has received over $200 billion in U.S. aid since 1991.
The envoy cited African Union reports indicating that countries on the continent lose an estimated $88 billion each year through tax evasion, money laundering, and corruption.
Gonzales said that instead of insisting on mutual accountability and using U.S. assistance to address the causes of poverty and underdevelopment, Washington funded outputs to allay the symptoms.
That approach, he noted, failed both American taxpayers and citizens of developing countries who looked to their governments and the U.S. to help create the conditions for a better future.
Criticising the pampering of governments rather than demanding performance, he said America “did not have a consistent policy as to whether assistance was charity or a foreign policy tool.”
Gonzales added that rather than challenge administrations that failed in their professed commitments, the U.S. excused the lack of political will as “capacity constraints,” choosing not to “expect too much.”