Lords of bling
A Namibia-based AIDS activist group has come up with an innovative video campaign to bring attention to a forgotten issue: African leaders pledged in 2001 to devote 15 percent of their national budgets to health care. Eight years later, almost all countries have failed to meet this target.
Where has the money gone instead? The AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern
Africa thinks it's been squandered on bling.
"Lords of the Bling (Vol. 1)" highlights some of the more extravagant expenditures by African leaders: hundreds of thousands of dollars for parties, cars and private jets. A teacher of mine, Robert Rotberg, said you could judge the quality of governance in a country by the size of the head of state's motorcade: the bigger the entourage, the worse the leader.
View the clip here (lyrics are to "I'm So Paid" by -- who else -- Senegalese-born rapper Akon):
After reading your contribution I'm not sure what makes me more angry, their pompous attitude and extreme elitist and close circle attitude while thousands of people are suffering or even dying under unbearable circumstances, or my helplessness to stop such happenings as forementioned. Hartmut Rast, London
Posted by: Hartmut Rast | July 31, 2009 at 08:49 AM