For the first time in a decade, investment expenditure rather than consumption accounts for more than half of GDP growth; report calls for urgent investment in education and infrastructure for good returns in long-term GDP; “Youth unemployment must be given top priority. With 12 million graduates entering the labor market each year and only 3 […]
roads
Equatorial Guinea officially launches Year of Investment 2020 Campaign — Database of Press Releases related to Africa – APO-Source
Equatorial Guinea has kicked off a year-long investment campaign aimed at driving capital investment into the country’s bankable projects; Major U.S. firms have pledged to increase their investment in Equatorial Guinea in 2020, along with Nigerian banking and financial institutions; Notable investment-ready projects include the construction of two modular oil refineries, an ammonia plant, a […]
Investments, not handouts are needed in African countries
New Hope for Africa through Investment and Freedom from UN interference
There are two worlds in countries of sub-Saharan Africa and many other underdeveloped countries, the urban world of development, investment and progress, and the rural world that is isolated, poor and struggling to survive. Between these two are the more developed agricultural areas near cities and the slums surrounding cities where rural people who come to cities for more opportunity, end up living in deplorable conditions without proper infrastructure. The areas with modern agriculture have many of the amenities of the city such as access to electricity, clean water, sanitation and roads, but the slums have more in common with the rural poor, without access to clean water, sanitation and sometimes electricity.
In most developing countries the leaders tend to concentrate infrastructure development in urban areas while largely ignoring the needs of the isolated rural poor. Because the businesses of the cities attract investment, and bring in both market value and taxes, they are given priority. This is natural since the cities are the hope of future economic development, and attracting investment from other countries is one of the main means of improving the lives of all of their countrymen in the long run. However, part of the funds available from this economic development should go into extending electrical distribution and transportation over time to the rural communities. In the short term it makes sense to support the cities, but in the long term extending support to the rural poor can further raise the overall economy and attract more investment. Rural electrification, transportation and opportunities through markets and business investments will raise many of those in extreme poverty to a higher economic level.
Investment, not aid, is the answer to raising developing countries out of poverty. See next section for information about the investment climate in Africa. Aid should only be a temporary measure for support in emergencies and for infrastructure building in the form of loans that can be repaid when conditions have improved. Aid should never be used for permanent or long term support of generationally poor populations. What you subsidize, you get more of. The rural poor don’t need hand-outs; they need jobs, electricity and roads so they can climb out of poverty.
The worst type of aid is government to government foreign aid, which should be ended as soon as practical. Typically less than 2% of this type of aid goes to improving the lives of ordinary people. Most of it goes to corrupt leaders and their administrations. Ending the practice of government to government foreign aid will reduce or end much of the government corruption and make leaders more responsible to their constituents. If they are dependent on the tax base and not foreign donors they will have incentive to build the infrastructure in order to attract business investors and grow the economy, and thus the tax base. Building the transportation and energy sectors into more rural areas would then make practical sense in order to attract investors and open markets to rural agricultural production.
China is investing heavily in African energy projects such as hydroelectric and fossil fuel power plants. While I would like to assume that China has only benign motives, that has not been their history. The Western world would be wise to invest in similar projects and not just throw money at corrupt governments in an attempt to stave off Chinese communist incursions and power.
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The book: Saving Africa from Lies that Kill: How Myths about the Environment and Overpopulation are Destroying Third World Countries was published in September, 2018. Print and ebook are available online.
My first book, Perverted Truth Exposed: How Progressive Philosophy has Corrupted Science was published in 2016. It is available in print and ebook, on line only, through Amazon, Books-A-Million and Barnes & Noble. See the companion blog at www.realscienceblog.com for related posts and pages.
UK aid to boost access to finance for sub-Saharan Africa — Financing for Development in Africa
New UK aid package will help mobilise £500 million in private sector investment and create 50,000 jobs across sub-Saharan Africa. UK aid to mobilise over £500 million of private sector investment, creating over 50,000 jobs in sub-Saharan Africa. The package will support financial start-ups and entrepreneurs and boost economic growth across the region. It will […]
via UK aid to boost access to finance for sub-Saharan Africa — Financing for Development in Africa
Filling the missing pieces: East and Southern Africa partners set targets for collating sustainable intensification data — Africa RISING
Participants group photo during the Africa RISING East and Southern Africa Project review and planning meeting held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 10–11 September 2019 (photo credit: Eveline Massam/ IITA).Earlier this month (10–11 September 2019), the Africa RISING project in East and Southern Africa (ESA) held its annual review and planning meeting in Dar es…
Clean Water & Hygiene are essential for poor countries to join the 21st Century
World Vision leads the way in developing Clean Water, Hygiene Education and Sanitation in poor countries Worldwide. World Vision’s global water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)
program has a goal to eliminate this need by 2030 in all areas they serve. In 2018 World Vision’s global water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) program reached an incredible 4 million people with clean water, 2.8 million with sanitation, and 5 million with hygiene education. Using their boots on the ground, local and global partnerships approach to solving problems, they are on track to meet the ambitious goal of providing clean water to everyone in the countries they serve by 2030. See below for excerpts from their Water Global 2018 Annual Report and a link to the complete report.
“We remain committed to reaching everyone, everywhere we
work with clean water by 2030—an ambitious but achievable
goal that means reaching 50 million people between 2015 and
2030. As an interim goal—and to make sure we remain on
track—we’ve committed to reach 20 million people between
2015 and 2020. This report demonstrates that we are on
track to fulfill that commitment, having reached 12.7 million
people with clean water in the first three years of this five year
commitment.” — World Vision WATER GLOBAL ANNUAL REPORT
October 2017 through September 2018
for Full Report click here
Global Reach 2018
4 MILLION PEOPLE provided with access to clean drinking water* 2.8 MILLION PEOPLE gained access to improved household sanitation 5 MILLION PEOPLE reached with hygiene behavior-change programming
2018 ANNUAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
53,830 water points built 2018 target: 38,684 Goal met: 139%
499,244 sanitation facilities built 2018 target: 465,219 Goal met: 107%
494,067 hand-washing facilities built 2018 target: 476,966 Goal met: 104%
6,735 WASH committees formed 2018 target: 6,147 Goal met: 110%
* This includes rural community water beneficiaries (3,242,291) and municipal water beneficiaries (760,023). The 4 million people with access to water represent many of the same beneficiaries that received access to sanitation facilities and behavior-change programming. Of these, 1,210,523 were reached with World Vision U.S. private funding.
A total of 12.7 million people have accessed clean drinking water since FY16, including 3.3 million who were reached with World Vision U.S. private funding since FY16.
2018 ANNUAL SPENDING
$145.6 MILLION spent on global WASH programs during 2018.
World Vision U.S. – Private Funding & Child Sponsorship ($63.9 million) 44%
Other World Vision Offices – Private Funding & Child Sponsorship ($41.1 million) 28%
Government, International, Local – Grants & Resource Development ($40.6 million) 28%
How you can help
World Vision is the go-to source for wisely investing in a healthy, promising future for developing countries worldwide. World Vision works directly with the people, unlike some other charitable organizations, which work through governments, which may be corrupt and may keep donated goods for themselves or distribute them unfairly. You can get involved through donations, working with their teams and many other ways at either World Vision.org or World Vision Philanthropy.org. You can also sponsor a child or designate one-time or monthly donations to specific needs such as medical or educational supplies, emergency food, shelter or warm clothing. Since many companies provide goods free and only the shipping cost is needed, your donation magnifies in value. A gift catalog allows you to share the cost of larger projects such as a deep water well. Please donate or volunteer to work with their teams.
Get Out of the Way! Let Africa catch up to developed countries
get out of the way!! UN & advocacy groups keep Africa and Developing Countries where the entire Preindustrial world was in the past
Much of Africa and the developing world are where the whole world was before the advances in technology and knowledge in the 19th and 20th century; the entire world was struggling, poor and sick, so that even the more well-off people had short lifespans due to preventable and curable diseases, poor nutrition and infections. In the developed world, widespread acceptance of germ theory and the development of antibiotics and vaccines only occurred in the early to mid 20th century. Malaria, meaning “bad air,’ was only eradicated in the developed world, in the mid 20th century due to 20 plus years of spraying pesticides for effective mosquito control, development of anti-malaria medicines and window screens. Likewise, malaria in poor countries could be reduced or eradicated by allowing proper pesticide use and providing malaria medicines.
Even into the late 20th century, some isolated areas in the developed world did not have electricity, purified water or paved roads and some people still lived in drafty shacks or log cabins, sometimes with dirt floors. Before the improvements in infrastructure, large multi-generational families were the norm because of high childhood death rates and the need for surviving children to care for their parents in a world where there was no social safety net for the disabled and elderly. Large families also filled the need for labor in a world where mechanical devices were few or lacking and back breaking work was needed for every job, whether agricultural, industrial or domestic. Without reliable electricity, transportation systems and industrial and agricultural development, we all could be back there now.
Source: UN Fund for Population Activities at https://www.unfpa.org/data
This is where rural Africa and underdeveloped countries are now. What will it take for developing countries to catch up with the developed world? First, we need to end counterproductive and damaging interference by international organizations that are working under wrong assumptions from the distant past about supposed overpopulation as a cause of environmental harm. Wrong practices include imposing population control and blocking effective insect and disease control, as well as modern agriculture and infrastructure development, while putting cultural and wildlife preservation above the real immediate needs of the people. Poverty, not overpopulation, causes environmental harm. Improving the economy can stabilize the population and preserve both cultural heritage and wildlife. Modern agricultural practices can end slash and burn deforestation and feed everyone.
Africa needs Investment, Infrastructure, Employment, Education and Disease Control.
Education in hygiene can end much of the disease burden, facilitate clean water and sanitation systems, and provide a healthy workforce. Education in agricultural, industrial and technical skills can open opportunities for employment, small business earnings and raise their standard of living. Transportation in the form of improved and extended roads and railroads can end isolation, encourage foreign investment and provide access to markets, employment opportunities, education and medical facilities.
Reliable electricity is important for economic growth and can facilitate the development of transportation systems, medical facilities and industrial investment, all of which cannot run on intermittent and varying power as provided by wind and solar power. Solar panels on huts are a start, but should only be a temporary energy solution until reliable electrical systems can be installed and extended into rural areas. Solar panels should never be used as a substitute for true energy security or an excuse for neglect.
Poor countries cannot afford to skip the reliable types of energy generation that have made the developed world what it is today. The solution should include all means possible, including hydroelectric, geothermal, fossil fuel and nuclear power. Africa has enough hydroelectric potential to supply all of their needs for the foreseeable future. Hydroelectric power is both clean and reliable. In Africa alone, over 200 hydroelectric dams have been blocked by environmentalists. This must stop!
Africa needs Investment, Infrastructure, Employment, Education and Disease Control.
Foreign aid must be replaced by investment in infrastructure. Most of the foreign aid is given to prop up corrupt governments. Leaders become rich while most of the aid is not used for famine relief or to build rural infrastructure and seldom reaches the people in need. Government to government foreign aid props up corrupt leaders, makes them accountable only to their donors, not the people, and prolongs poverty. Leaders that depend on foreign aid, not the tax base, are less likely to want to attract investment in new businesses or to invest in infrastructure that facilitates economic growth. As long as the problems are not solved, foreign aid money keeps coming, so corrupt leaders benefit from keeping their countries poor and controlled.
Foreign aid, other than temporary disaster relief, must be replaced with investment in infrastructure including extended electrical systems, powered by all means available, and improved and extended roads, railroads, airports and bridges, as well as education and medical facilities, and industry. The aim is to raise the economy so that poor countries no longer need outside help, but rather are net contributors to the world economy, or at least are self sufficient. It can be done and you can help.
What can you do? Lots! Here are a few suggestions from my book. Start by contacting government officials and elected representatives to demand that perpetual government to government foreign aid be replaced with accountable infrastructure investment, and that abuses by the UN and other organizations be eliminated and better practices be implemented ASAP. Donate to charities that help build infrastructure such as World Vision and Samaritan’s Purse. Volunteer to go and work with these organizations in poor countries. Invest in businesses/industries that are selling or buying African goods or are locating new businesses in Africa, or are offering real infrastructure assistance, or are improving medical and educational facilities.
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My award winning book, Saving Africa From Lies That Kill: How Myths about the Environment and Overpopulation are Destroying Third World Countries is now available online and in book stores everywhere. In print and eBook through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million.
Award-Winning Finalist in the Social Change category of the 2019 International Book Awards
After reading the book, please remember to review it on Amazon; share it with a friend and do your part to end bad practices. Visit my blog for more information and to sign up for email updates at https://savingafricafromliesthatkill.com/ and like my Facebook page.
Read the first chapter free through Bookfunnel by clicking here
Reliable Electricity is Essential to Economic Development
No Roads and No Electricity: Why Fossil Fuels are Indispensable for Development
I live in the Silicon Valley of India, Bangalore. Except for the tech companies, there aren’t many similarities between Bangalore (now Bengaluru) and the Silicon Valley in California.
I live in the northern part of the city. Roads here remain in an unusable condition. They are worse than any bad road you would find in the U.S. The road leading to my neighborhood—frequented by thousands of cars every day—has remained dug up for more than 400 days now. In fact, reports indicate that around 30,000 roads in the city of Bengaluru remain either dug up or in worse condition.
Electricity infrastructure experiences frequent failures and inability to cope with even a slight drizzle of rain. Power blackouts—like the one that occurred in New York in early July—are an everyday event in many parts of India.
That is an appalling situation even by Third World standards, given that the city is the hub of some of the richest tech companies in the world.
Despite rapid economic development in India, some of India’s biggest cities still lack basic infrastructure and sanitation facilities. One reason is how rapidly its economy has grown—outpacing the growth of its infrastructure.
With 1.3 billion people, India’s developing economy can only achieve infrastructure progress in its major cities by achieving rapid economic progress. The economic progress in turn is primarily dependent on its energy sector. Energy is the backbone of any developing economy.
Ever since the liberalization of its economy in the 1990s, India has progressed by leaps and bounds. The manufacturing and service industries are slowly drawing people away from agriculture.
Many forget that this propulsion of India’s economy in the past three decades, and of any growing economy for that matter, was made possible because fossil fuels have provided energy and improved agricultural outputs: the two key pillars of India’s economy.
Today, India produces more electricity than required, but the transmission infrastructure is far behind the standards of developed countries. Fossil fuel provides more than three-fourths of the country’s energy. Fossil fuel-based fertilizers and pesticides have helped the country produce enough food for domestic consumption and export.
Twenty years ago, everyone I knew was aware of the fact that coal is one of the major solutions to our energy problems. We were right.
Today, coal is not only the country’s largest contributor to electricity, it is also the cheapest and most abundant source, resulting in uninterrupted power supply in places that have good grid infrastructure.
Our infrastructure—including transport and other public utility systems—will improve only as our economy continues to use the coal reserves, the existing oil resources, and the newly discovered natural gas reserves.
India’s defiant embrace of fossil fuels, despite pressure from anti-fossil establishments, gives hope to residents like me who can dream about a future with drivable roads and uninterrupted power supply.
Featured image by John Fornander on Unsplash.
Investment Opportunities in Africa
African Economic Development through Foreign Investment
Rand Merchant Bank report, “Where to Invest in Africa,” among other business information services, ranks African countries for their business environment including ease of doing business and a corruption index to help foreign and domestic investors identify good investments. Most of the data comes from UNCTAD, UN Conference on Trade and Development, or other public sources but is compiled to help potential investors. Rand Merchant Bank is an investment bank headquartered in South Africa. RMB “Where to Invest in Africa” brochure can be downloaded without charge by those seriously interested in learning about investing in Africa at https://www.rmb.co.za/where-to-invest-in-africa-2018-edition/
African Development Bank Group is another source of economic and investment information, among other sources. You can download the brochure “African Economic Outlook 2018” for free at https://www.afdb.org/en/knowledge/publications/african-economic-outlook/. In addition to private investment and business information services, you can find financial information about any countries or regions through the International Monetary Fund, IMF, at www.imf.org, the World Bank, at www.worldbank.org and UN Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD, at http://unctad.org, which publishes an annual World Investment Report. Most of the information in the private investment and financial databases are summaries from one of these public sources.
Personal remittances that immigrants send back home are an important cash flow into the economy for most of the countries in Africa. Remittances to families in the impoverished areas benefit the most from it, but it helps the overall economy. Let me give you an example closer to home. Mexico officially receives $26.1 billion in remittances sent back to families by Mexican immigrants, mostly from the United States. That’s roughly 2.5 percent of Mexico’s GDP, which is a significant contribution to the country’s economy. Generally, remittances have been on the rise since 2000 worldwide due to increased migration from poor countries to developed countries. For this reason, it is beneficial for developing countries to encourage migration.
Table 1: Top Ten Recipients of Foreign Direct Investments in 2016
| Country | Percent of Total Foreign Direct Investments | Year Over Year Percentage Change |
| 1 Angola (US$14.4bn) | 24.2% | -11.2% |
| 2 Egypt (US$8.1bn) | 13.7% | 17.1% |
| 3 Nigeria (US$4.4bn) | 7.5% | 45.2% |
| 4 Ghana (US$4.4bn) | 7.5% | 45.2% |
| 5 Ethiopia (US$3.2bn) | 5.4% | 45.7% |
| 6 Mozambique (US$3.0bn) | 5.2% | -20.0% |
| 7 Morocco (US$2.3bn) | 3.9% | -28.7% |
| 8 South Africa (US$2.3bn) | 3.8% | 31.3% |
| 9 Congo (US$2.0bn) | 3.4% | 7.5% |
| 10 Algeria (US$1.5bn) | 2.6% | 17.1% |
77.2 percent of all FDI in Africa is included in these top ten countries. Countries suffering from violence and political unrest account for the reductions in the table above.
Source: UN Conference on Trade and Development, (UNCTAD)
“A number of emerging and developed markets acquired a keen eye for African assets in 2016, with capital investments from the Asia-Pacific region firmly outpacing traditional markets . . . Egypt, South Africa and Tanzania were among the largest destinations for Chinese and Japanese investors seeking strategic investments in technology, media and telecommunications (TMT), diversified industrial products (DIP), and the automotive and business services sectors.” — Rand Merchant Bank, Where to Invest in Africa, 2018
Table 2: Top Ten Investors in Africa in 2016
| Country | Investment |
| 1. UK | US$ 66 billion |
| 2. US | US$ 64 billion |
| 3. France | US$52 billion |
| 4. China | US$32 billion |
| 5. S. Africa | US$26 billion |
| 6. Italy | US$19 billion |
| 7. Singapore | US$17 billion |
| 8. India | US$15 billion |
| 9. Malasia | US$14 billion |
| 10. Germany | US$13 billion |
Source: UN Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD
Table 3: Top Ten Most and Least Corrupt Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa
| Rank worldwide | Most Corrupt | Score | Rank worldwide | Least Corrupt | Score | |
| 176 | Somalia | 10 | 35 | Botswana | 60 | |
| 175 | South Sudan | 11 | 38 | Cape Verde | 59 | |
| 170 | Sudan | 14 | 50 | Rwanda | 54 | |
| 168 | Guinea-Bissau | 16 | 50 | Mauritius | 54 | |
| 164 | Eritrea | 18 | 53 | Namibia | 52 | |
| 164 | Angola | 18 | 62 | São Tomé and Principe | 46 | |
| 159 | Republic of Congo | 20 | 64 | Senegal | 45 | |
| 159 | Chad | 20 | 64 | South Africa | 45 | |
| 159 | CAR | 20 | 70 | Ghana | 43 | |
| 159 | Burundi | 20 | 72 | Burkina Faso | 42 |
Source: Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index 2016
Table 4: Leading Mineral Production in Africa
| Material | Percent of world production | Countries |
| Diamonds | 73% | Botswana 35%, Congo (Kinshasa) 34%, South Africa 17%, Angola, 8% |
| Gold | 89% | South Africa 56%, Ghana, 13%, Tanzania, 10%, and Mali, 8% |
| Uranium | 16% | Namibia 46%, Niger 44%, South Africa less than 10% |
| Bauxite (for aluminum) | 9% | Guinea 95%, Ghana 5% |
| Steel | 2% | South Africa 54%, Egypt 32%, Libya 7%, Algeria 6% |
| Aluminum | 5% | South Africa 48%, Mozambique 32%, Egypt 14% |
| Copper | 5% | Zambia 65%/77%, South Africa 15%/19%, Congo (Kinshasa) 13%/0%, Egypt 0%/3% |
| Platinum/Palladium | 92% | South Africa 97% / 96% |
| Coal | 5% | South Africa 99% |
Source: Wikipedia “Mineral Industry in Africa”
Figure 5: Top Five of the Twenty-nine Stock Exchanges in Africa
| Exchange | Market Capitalizations | Number of Listings |
| 1. Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) | $987 billion | 388 |
| 2. Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) | $44 billion | 176 |
| 3. Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) | $46 billion | 222 |
| 4. Casablanca Stock Exchange (Casa SE) | $48 billion | 75 |
| 5. Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) | $76 billion | 36 |
Source: © Copyright 2018| Nairametrics
Table 6: Intended use of selected sovereign bond issues in selected African countries
| Country, Year | Value
(M US$) |
Intended Use |
| Côte d’Ivoire, 2014 | 750 | Public investment, especially in health care and education |
| Côte d’Ivoire, 2015 | 1,000 | National Development Plan (NDP), which focuses on infrastructure, education, health care, and poverty reduction |
| Ethiopia, 2014 | 1,000 | Infrastructure, notably the Renaissance Dam |
| Ghana, 2013 | 750 | Capital expenditure and refinancing of public debt to reduce the cost of borrowing |
| Kenya, 2014 | 2,000 | Infrastructure projects and repayment of a $600 million loan that matured in August 2014 |
| Nigeria, 2013 | 1,000 | Projects in the electricity sector, which is undergoing privatization, and support of the shift from domestic borrowing toward cheaper foreign credit |
| Rwanda, 2013 | 400 | Construction of a 28-megawatt hydropower plant, construction of a hotel, and payment of some state-owned RwandAir debt |
| Senegal, 2014 | 500 | Construction of a major highway and the upgrading and repair of energy infrastructure |
Source: AfDB compilation, based on various sources.
“African Economic Outlook 2018,” African Development Bank
The new hope for Africa involves improving infrastructure, attracting foreign and domestic investment, and ending internationally funded government corruption that discourages investment and permits interference by international programs that keep populations low and the rural poor isolated, ignorant, sick and helpless. Governments that rely on taxes from a growing economy are more accountable to the people, so that they will be prompted to develop infrastructure, such as roads and electricity, and maintain political and economic stability, all of which will encourage increased investments and grow the economy. Corruption is the number one deterrent to global investment, so it is important to end foreign aid that props up corrupt politicians, clean up the government and stabilize the economy.
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If you like this post share it with your friends, and sign up to follow my blog by email at http://Savingafricafromliesthatkill.com. Thank you.
The book: Saving Africa from Lies that Kill: How Myths about the Environment and Overpopulation are Destroying Third World Countries is available in print and eBook online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million and in bookstores. If you like the book, please leave a review online at Amazon.com.
If you like the book, please leave a review online at Amazon.com or other outlet.
Award-Winning Finalist in the Social Change category of the 2019 International Book Awards
Read the first chapter free through Bookfunnel at www.bit.ly/
Help Developing Countries Join the 21st Century
How You Can Help Raise Economies and Improve Lives in Developing Countries
Reposted: Some social sites said this post was too long, so you can read the complete version at my blog here https://wp.me/p9Wxqa-d1 (recommended), or read the condensed version below which necessarily leaves out some information and references.
The list of things that need to be done to raise Africa and other developing countries out of extreme poverty and usher them into the twenty-first century is both comprehensive and achievable. Many of them involve ending interference by international organizations that often have hidden agendas unrelated to the welfare of the poor or raising the economy.
Dependency on foreign aid supports and encourages corruption and lack of accountability of government officials; it mires developing countries in debt from foreign aid in the form of low interest loans, causes inflation, discourages infrastructure improvements and economic development, and is devastating to the poor who rarely benefit from it. Instead, those in extreme poverty need education, employment, investment and infrastructure.
Included in these goals is a need for good health and relief from isolation through vehicle passable roads. As shown in previous posts, for example: Get Out of the Way! Let Africa catch up to developed countries, Immediate Solutions for Africa’s problems, Long Term Solutions to Raise Developing Countries out of Extreme Poverty, there are reasonable steps to solving these problems, both in the short term through local infrastructure investments, and longer term though financing of larger infrastructure projects such as transportation projects, hydroelectric power dams and electrical transmission systems.
Business and industrial investment and trade are the ultimate means to raise their economies out of extreme poverty. There are inviting investment opportunities, both foreign and domestic, for example see earlier posts: Investment Opportunities in Africa, New US Build Act encourages investment in Africa. The workforce is there; they just need more job opportunities, education and improved health.
As a whole, it seems like an insurmountable task, but taken item by item and step by step these problems are infinitely solvable. We have the advantage of not only having resources to help, but vast numbers of people who are disgusted with the state of affairs, want to raise the impoverished, and are willing to help, financially or through good old-fashioned, roll-up-your-sleeves hard work.
What you can do, individually or in groups
In summary, we need to stop international organizations from continuing the propaganda and activities that have kept developing countries from advancing and that have prevented them from catching up with the rest of the world; and we need to raise the destitute out of extreme poverty through free trade by building infrastructure and improving employment opportunities.
environmental harm and failure to advance are blamed on the myths of overpopulation and inferiority of poor peoples. The truth is that poverty, often caused by deliberate deprivation and isolation, not overpopulation, causes environmental harm. Raising poor peoples out of extreme poverty, improving their health and implementing modern agricultural practices will stabilize the population and end deforestation.
Get involved in any way you can, as often as you can.
I do not have all of the answers, but here are a few suggestions that can guide you to take action. Some of you, no doubt, will have other, perhaps better, ideas. The key is to get involved and stay involved in any way you can.
Information Sharing and Recruiting
Share information about short term infrastructure building charities and investment agencies through Facebook, Twitter, and other social sites. Make a YouTube video, blog, or website encouraging investment and exposing the crimes of international organizations
Inform as many people as possible about the true agenda and practices behind the following euphemistic phrases and biased propaganda. Family Planning and Reproductive Health, Sustainable Agriculture, Climate friendly power, Cultural preservation.
Contact agencies and government officials that are able to change things and spread the word about the need for ending practices such as population control programs, denial of DDT, denial of GMO and high yield crops, and modern agriculture; denial of clean water, sanitation and hygiene education; and denial of electricity by all means except solar and wind.
Call or write your congressman, the president, cabinet secretaries, state department heads. Include local and state governments and business organizations that can partner with organizations in developing countries or encourage investment.
Join or donate to groups opposed to these misguided actions or that support major improvements. For example Population Research Institute is fighting the overpopulation myth and human rights abuses in population control programs in thirty countries.
Send my book, Saving Africa from Lies That Kill: How Myths about the Environment and Overpopulation are destroying Third World Countries or excerpts from it to important people that can get things done and influence others. Read the first chapter free through Bookfunnel at www.bit.ly/
Follow my blog, Saving Africa from Lies that Kill at www.savingafricafromliesthatkill.com. Reblog posts or use the links to repost on Twitter, Facebook and other social sites.
Charitable Activities
Donate to charities that build immediate infrastructure: wells, toilets, sand dams, sand filters, roads, improved housing, schools, and medical facilities by working directly with the people, not the governments, which may keep most of the donations. Recommended: World Vision, Samaritan’s Purse, Christian Broadcasting Network.
Medicine and health care supplies are badly needed. For many of these organizations, generous donors will match your donation. If you work for a corporation, many of them will match your donations, so you need to ask them if they support the charity to which you want to donate. Because many companies donate most of the materials and supplies, your donations may only have to cover the cost of shipping, so that your gift multiplies by typically five to eight times. Most of these charities have a catalog that allows you to see the options and their cost. Sponsoring a child or family can also be used to build schools and other infrastructure for an entire village.
Check out charities to make sure most of the money donated goes to aid the people, not the administration of the charity or receiving countries’ governments.
Support Christian missionaries in developing countries through your church. Along with preaching the Gospel, missionaries are involved in the communities they service in various ways including teaching, health care, and infrastructure improvements.
Go on summer mission trips with your church or other organization offering medical and educational assistance.
Volunteer to go and use your own talents and skills to help:
- Build infrastructure such as wells, sand dams, schools, clinics, improved housing, agricultural projects, roads, and more.
- Teach basic education, hygiene, agriculture, building trades, small business administration, and other needed skills.
Offer scholarships for outstanding students in these countries. Foundations, church and civic groups can sponsor scholarships, grants, or loans for education. Ask about existing scholarship programs and donate to worthy ones that help people from developing countries.
Visit African and developing countries. Tourism is a significant source of income for many African and other developing countries.
Business Opportunities
Buy products from Africa and other developing countries.
Sell products from Africa and other developing countries in your own online or brick-and-mortar stores using online wholesale suppliers
Support businesses that locate or are willing to locate facilities in African or other developing countries. Inquire about pension and retirement plans to determine and request investments to include stocks and bonds in African or other developing countries.
Invest in African stocks or in companies that invest in Africa and other developing countries or in mining, manufacturing companies, and other industries with facilities in developing countries.
Start a new business: If you have funds to invest in new ventures or own a business, whether in manufacturing, communications, services, merchandising, mining, etc., consider opening a branch in an African or other developing country and hiring and training local people from their abundant workforce.
Build a company town to support their or your new manufacturing, mining or extractive business, their/your local employees and their families. You may want to locate a company town near city slums where there is a ready workforce in need of employment. Company towns can provide safe homes, electricity, clean water and sanitation, education and medical facilities for employees and their families, ensuring a healthy and loyal workforce.
Opportunities abound in African and other developing countries and are just waiting for someone with the insight and courage to implement them. Africans don’t need handouts to stay poor; they need jobs and someone to give them an opportunity.
The bottom line is to get and stay involved, however you can, in activities that will ultimately raise the economies of developing countries, lift the rural population out of extreme poverty, end practices by outside organization that are contrary to the needs of the people and usher them into the twenty-first century. Africa and the developing world have a promising and bright future, but it will take all of us to foster the changes that are needed. It is possible, and you can make a difference. Many people will say, “Let George do it.”
Today, You Are George. What can you do? What will you do?
“If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, ‘Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled’; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so, faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, ‘Thou hast faith, and I have works’: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.” – James 2:15-20, KJV Bible
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The book: Saving Africa from Lies that Kill: How Myths about the Environment and Overpopulation are Destroying Third World Countries is available in print and eBook online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million and in bookstores. If you like the book, please leave a review online at Amazon.com or other outlet.
Award-Winning Finalist in the Social Change category of the 2019 International Book Awards
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