An African campaigner and film-maker, Roy Kwesi Andrews toured the UK and was initially ""overjoyed by the ease of life that development has brought to people in the UK"" but grew angry at the way he saw his own country being held back by those in the west who profess to have his continent’s best interests at heart: [quote]
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"" my amazement turned to anger as the gulf between Ghana and London became apparent. I saw huge beautiful bridges and highways, underground trains, railways, buses and modern housing. I was incensed because, in Ghana, tiny, low-scale development projects are all that are on offer from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and various externally-funded NGOs.""
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Roy Kwesi Andrews demanded the same level of infrastructure for his country that he saw in the west – large power stations capable of generating reliable electricity 24/7 and 365. Proper roads and bridges to carry food to market. An economy that provides enough wealth to allow people to fly abroad if they want. He said: [quote]
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""We hate being constantly subdued by nature; we are tired of dying early; we are tired of sleeping in mud huts; we are tired of walking long distances for water, food and fuel; we are tired of doing our washing by hand; we are tired of farming with hoes and cutlasses and waiting for nature to be merciful unto us. You think this way of life is ‘natural’ and happiness-inducing? Then you should try it out.""
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So, given that understandable anger, here’s the statement that i would like your opinion on:
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""At another discussion, a concerned student told me that humans are destroying the planet. He said that we are greedy, consume too much, produce too much, fly too much and drive unnecessarily big cars… He said that all of this greedy consumption by Westerners is to blame for Africa’s poverty. I felt very sorry for this doom-monger. Africans are not suffering because of climate change. We’re suffering because of underdevelopment. The fact is we simply don’t have the infrastructure that has enabled the West to subdue nature. If we are at the mercy of the climate, it is because our societies remain under-industrialised.""
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~ Do you agree that it isn’t climate change that is causing Africa to suffer but rather under-development? And do you really believe that wind turbines and solar power are enough to pull an entire continent out of abject poverty? And if so, will you take up the author’s challenge? (see article).
Source:
Roy Kwesi Andrews "You Hate Being Affluent? Then Swap With Us"
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/3771/
