Africa’s AID problem.
Its cold on the tow path at the moment. About zero degrees. And so our thoughts turn to warmer climes. Just this morning we were talking about Swaziland. Great weather there. So when we got back from our freezing walk, I googled Swaziland. (Googling is a bit like sniffing pee on the tow path – except you sniff out stories on the internet.)
Anyhow. Heres how Swaziland reinforces the African aid model.
Swaziland is poor. The population is around 1 Million. 70% of them live in dire poverty. Almost 40% have HIV/Aids and this is the highest proportion in the world. Swaziland received around 1 Million in Aid from Britain last year.
If you were the king of this castle, how would you spend your million pounds of British Aid?
Educating youngsters to help mitigate the Aids problem?
Perhaps treating HIV victims with drugs?
Providing work opportunities for the unemployed?
If you considered any of the above, you are not getting it. You are thinking like a westerner, and this I think is the biggest problem Africa has faced in all its years of falling victim to the curse of ‘AID’.
It’s not the African way.
Here’s what you would do if you were King of Swaziland. (Thinking like an African.)
First – marry 11 wives (The younger the better as it lessens the chances of them being HIV+)
Second – buy them each a new BMW – spending almost half a million pounds in this process.
It still leaves you with half a million to spend on something else, and of course King Mswati’s British education (Sherborne) will have made him aware that all he needs to do is ask for more, and it will come. The British public never tire of donating money for African excess if its sold to them by rock and roll quasi politicians, and in this case can be grateful that the fruits of their donations went in such a non violent undertaking, which is off course unusual in the context of African Aid and its final outcome.
And so, unlike the millions who die elsewhere in Africa following our Aid intervention, we can only salute King Mswati for his prescience in preventing this money going in militant endeavors by purchasing motor cars that help increase the happiness of 11 Swazi citizens.
Which leads us to ask:
Which kills more Africans. Aids or Aid?
Any one able to enlighten me can write a reply to this blog.
Woof woof from the frozen Tow path…. Wallace.
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7 comments:
Maybe one of his 11 wives needs a pet to pamper? Sounds like a cushy little number to me.
I see now that Mr Mswati (The polygamous King) drives a Maybach limo. Approximate cost 280 000 Pounds. So clearly he is not spending ALL the British Aid money just on motor cars. I guess you could ask if he has a position for a royal cat?
Ah so sad but true I didn't know anything about Swaziland or the fact that it has an absolute monarch.
I have no one to blame for my ignorance but once I learned of such a country with such a King...a young, Black King who shares power with his mother (known as the She-Elaphant)I became fascinated and started reading more.
For the simple fact that there is such a place, ruled by such a man a black man...a KING in this day and age...I take enormous pride in that. And that's despite the fact that Swaziland is poor and is in no means some great, powerful nation. ump it's still a country in our vast universe so get use to it.
True the customs and traditions of this King and how women are handled don't sit well with me after all I'm an American female... ah a Black American female.
I'm not making light of the HIV epidemic or the lavish lifestyle of this man (although he is a King) I agree more should be done and albeit more has been done to combat the epidemic but the media only focused on one solution the...ban on sex with underage girls. Yeah, that seemed sort of stupid to me too humm we all know about the press and how they report the facts without their slants don't we.
And so this King is being portrayed to the world as some sexual deviant who is stupid. I'll bet a whole year's salary that he isn't. Ah he was educated in your country...right?
And please enlighten me as to why all of the news regarding this man and this country has such a sexual undertone to it. I mean the only news I see deals with the King's sex life. I mean every article has a sexual, rather hostile undertone to it. It's rather intersting that the only thing you and others can focus on is this man's sex life.
And let me point out again....I don't agree with his tradition of many wives etc. But I'm certain that the sex life of this ruler is NOT the only event or concern of this country. By God I think the man does more than take wives and procreate but every article makes it seem as if that is all he does!
Listen..the fact that the media and people like you tend to only want to highlight this aspect of this Kings lifestyle only supports my belief that you can't "deal" with the fact that he is(1) a King and (2)managing to do something that most European royals your Queen included can't do...rule absolutely.
Get a life...
Right on Sister.
I hear what you sayin. They all diss the black man coz he is King.
If it were no black man in Swahililand then they woulden say nuttin. Is like you say. He is the King. Aint no small thing that. And he rule like a King spose to rule. Yeh. Right on King brother. King should have leven wives if he wants to. Why should only the White Kings get the wives. Is that what they sayin?
That black dog fella should do like you say. Get a life. And stop writing bout other peoples Kings. Go write bout yo own King.
This King Maswati feller rules. I be puttin my name down for wife number 12 I can tell you. Sounds like a sweet thing going on there.
i am a voluntary potographer, any chance you would like to show some of my photos? i guess it would be awesome and fit on your page :-)
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