Editorial: Shame of African leadership
Before I became a Hammersmith-bound desk-jockey, I used to travel a bit for work in the developing world: India, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Ethiopia, The Gambia, California ... On one occasion I spent a fortnight in Papua New Guinea and picked up some pidgin. 'Namba wan pikinini bilong misis kwin' is, of course, Prince Charles.
Now, my observations gained from small-time globe-trotting don't give me anything like the depth of experience or insight in the field of globalisation enjoyed by Joseph Stiglitz. (Nor am I ever likely to receive a Nobel prize for economics.) However, I'm worried by his argument that the failures of globalisation lie only at our door: that poor countries are done down solely by the machinations of rich nations and multinationals.
Take the example of the horrific state of Zimbabwe, a beautiful place.
It is currently run by a vicious, kleptocratic tinpot Marxist who has totally screwed up his homeland in a now classic post-colonial African blend of corruption and mismanagement. What makes someone like Mugabe's crimes so heinous is that his country had real potential: a fertile land, a serviceable infrastructure and a host of goodwill from the West.
