How
‘economic hit men’ conspire to impoverish the Third World with aid
By JOHN
MBARIA
As Kenyans enter
into a national dialogue on whether we can do without the West should Uhuru
Kenyatta win the presidency, everyone ought to read a book that reveals how the
West, the Bretton Woods institutions and giant multinationals take everyone for
a ride so that they can rake in billions of dollars generated in the developing
world.
It is a book you can never find in Kenya. But the
shocking, best-selling gem ought to be read by everyone, particularly those who
have been harping loudest on the great mercies of donors.
The moment you are through the Confessions of an
Economic Hit Man by John Perkins, you will look at the “donor world’ through a
different prism.
For Perkins tells a convincing story of his own
inner struggles as he graduated from a willing servant of big capital to a
crusading advocate for the rights of oppressed people in developing countries.
Though the man was recruited by the US National
Security Agency, he was also on the payroll of an international consulting firm
which enabled him to tour of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Panama, Colombia,
Ecuador, Colombia and other countries.
His job was to
implement policies that promoted the interests of what he terms
“corporatocracy” – an unholy alliance of the US Government, banks, and other
corporations. As he did this, he was expected to make high-sounding but
deceptive noises about tackling poverty in the relevant countries.
Published in 2004, the book gives an unforgettable
insight into the sneaky world of the “unseen” men who gang up with political,
business and religious elites in developing countries to snatch away the very
basis upon which poor people depend for survival.
In a startling
confession, Perkins reveals that his work was to convince the political and
financial leaders in the relevant countries to accept huge loans from the World
Bank, USAid and other organisations. And most of the elite would go along as
long as their cut was assured.
Such leaders would grow immensely rich from
kickbacks and amass political power particularly because unsuspecting masses
ended up crediting them with initiating industries, highways, power plants,
airports and dams. But their countries would end up with debts they could never
hope to pay.
Together with other “economic hit men”, Perkins
helped to bankrupt such countries by making them remain greatly indebted.
Consequently, the countries would become so
vulnerable that they would readily accept such demands as dishing out military
bases, voting along with the West in the UN, and giving the West unfettered
access to natural resources.
However, as the countries struggled to repay the
debts, they would greatly impoverish their people since they cannot finance
basic health services, education and other public amenities.
On its part, the international media would be
deployed to portray the same enslaving projects as acts of generosity on the
part of the West.
Perkins describes “economic hit men” as extremely
bright, highly-paid professionals who transfer the cash loaned to poor
countries by the World Bank and other “aid” agencies into the accounts of
big-time corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control
much of the world’s natural resources.
To do this, the corporations employ fraudulent and
highly optimistic financial reports and projections, rigged elections, payoffs,
extortion, sex, and murder. “They play a game as old as empire, but one that
has taken on new and terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization”.
After playing his part in the grand manipulative
schemes for years, Perkins could not handle his conscience. He went into inner
struggles especially after realising that he was a vital cog in it. When he
came face-to-face with its victims, guilt overwhelmed him; he got depressed and
quit his job in 1980.
Unfortunately for us in developing countries, this
grand deception did not end after Perkins published his book. It is a scheme
that is so well-crafted that the victim becomes dependent on it and often begs
those behind it to continue stealing.
It is no wonder then that most Kenyans would not
hear of breaking the shackles of “donor” dependency even when it is crystal
clear that there is very little to show for it in the way of tangible,
long-term development.
enyans ought to know that when “donors” give a
shilling, they take away a billion!
Mr Mbaria writes on development and environmental
issues (gatumbaria@gmail.com)
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