Friday, September 3, 2010

No! To The IMF

There's a famous economic tale retold by legions of economics professors. It's about one of the intellectuals from the Austrian School of economics, either Ludwig Von Mises or Von Hayek. The intellectual was asked what they'd do if they were appointed Min Of Finance, and the famous answer given was, "I'll resign!"

You see (intellectually) they DIDN'T BELIEVE in the govt running the economy, and hence had NO NEED for a Min Of Finance. In the same vein , I sure do wish that Africa's intellectuals and political class would refrain from having any dealings with the World Bank and The I.M.F. We have no need for the evil twin sisters of the IMF and the World Bank dictating our development needs.

We have all the wealth we need in Africa to rebuild our economies. Congo-DRC is sitting on trillions worth of raw materials; we've just discovered the world's largest diamond mine in Zimbabwe (bigger than Kimberley in the 19th Century), so why do we need the IMF? In the words of President Robert Mugabe, "They can go to hell!".....on a Greyhound Bus (my words), if you asked me.

James Chikonamombe
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