“You know … Bob Geldof, Bono?”, I continued, confident he would recognise me as a countryman of the two rockers who many Westerners think fed the world during the 1980s.

“Bondof?” came the puzzled reply. “Oh, Ireland! … You mean Roy Keane!
Gerry Adams! IRA!”

Conclusions

This is a really interesting and multi layered question. Having been a fan of the Boomtown Rats [I dont like Mondays - remember that], I do feel that Bob Geldof stepped up and marshalled help [Live Aid] at a time when it needed someone to step up to the plate and he did.
Recently, on the fringes of the G20 conference, he also stopped me in my tracks, when he said, change BAILOUT FOR AID and then do the Math.
I thought that a fine point.

The problem is that the Live Aid prism are the spectacles with which so many [including Ourselves] tend to see the Continent. And moreover, this has created a culture of dependency. Vast Bureaucracies [NGO World, the Civil Servants and the apparatus of Government whose sole raison d'etre is to perpetuate this myth - You will note that any NGO worth its salt must have a brand new Prado] sit atop Africa and bilk this system. I read a report that out of every 1 Pound you give in the UK between 3-5 English pence reaches its intended recipient.I call this dyslexic and inefficient. Sure there are extreme circumstances like famine and then we need a Rapid Response but note how the World is changing; we could get every African a Phone and then MPESA the money direct. Think about that but then a whole lot of Folk will be out of a job?

There is a whole smart new World out there and we need to smarten up.

This AID Architecture has colonised our minds, it has stifled entrepreneurship [and Africans are outstanding Entrepreneurs - You will find a market wherever you turn your gaze], it has skewed the risk reward profile and its like a fog of dependency that sits atop us.

I hear the call that Africa can articulate whats best for Africa but allow me to say this. Dominque Strauss Kahn asked to be that Voice re the Economy in Dar not so long ago. Why? It was because we were not standing up ourselves. To date has anyone in Africa put forward a Marshall Plan, a smart one.

Forget AID. It salves consciences but it is the least efficient transmission of cash. Its a joke.

Come build our Infrastructure. 3 lane highways from the Cape to Cairo. East to West. We will create a smart software, we will tell you how many cars and lorries pass on a real time basis. We will pay the interest from the toll receipts. Build us a high speed railways as well. We will pay our way and the c21st allows us to leapfrog.

Come and CARPE DIEM. This is the last convergence trade.