World Bank working paper reveals astonishing amount of aid money to the African continent going directly into tax havens!

The World Bank working paper named ‘Elite Capture of Foreign Aid – Evidence from Offshore Bank Accounts’, which was finally released yesterday is a devastating read. Not because of the facts in it, but because of the extent of the misuse and theft of aid money. The World Bank are now proving by small samples how much of their loans, grants and funds, which is given by donors to the WB, which happens to be moved to tax havens by the regimes that needs it. That is eating of the plate of the poorest and living lavish on others people’s dime.

Just in the Annex, the truth really comes forward, where it is only a small samples, but showing the distasteful enterprise still. Like from table one. You can see that a certain amount of African countries have taken out huge funds into havens deposits and non-haven deposits.

The report explains this about the table one: “The table shows the 22 countries in our main sample and presents summary statistics for the main variables in our analysis. The sample includes all countries for which annual disbursements from the World Bank are equivalent to at least 2 percent of annual GDP on average. Sample mean is the average of the 22 countries in the sample. Annual WB aid (% of GDP) is annual disbursements from the World Bank as a fraction of annual GDP. Annual ODA aid (% of GDP) is annual Official Development Assistance (ODA) from all sources as a fraction of annual GDP. Haven deposits is foreign deposits held in the 17 countries classified as havens. Non-haven deposits is foreign deposits held in the countries not classified as havens” (World Bank Feb 2020).

Nation Haven (million USD) Non-Haven (million USD)
Burkina Faso 32 88
Burundi 103 19
Eritrea 8 11
Ethiopia 64 155
Ghana 76 446
Guinea-Bissau 8 16
Madagascar 193 232
Malawi 31 82
Mali 27 133
Mauritania 32 150
Mozambique 40 161
Niger 29 79
Rwanda 149 41
Sao Tome and Principe 4 8
Sierra Leone 32 82
Tanzania 145 437
Uganda 73 188
Zambia 117 306

When you add into the A6 Table of the modestly aid-dependent countries. You see yet more African countries, where the money a flowing out of the coffers. Where surely not all aid is going where its supposed too.

The report explains table A6 like this: “The table shows the 24 countries for which annual disbursements from the World Bank are between 1% and 2% of annual GDP on average. is the average of the 24 countries in the sample. Annual WB aid (% of GDP) is annual disbursements from the World Bank as a fraction of annual GDP. Sample mean is the average of the 22 countries in the sample. WB aid disbursements is annual disbursements from the World Bank as a fraction of annual GDP. Annual ODA aid (% of GDP) is annual Official Development Assistance (ODA) from all sources as a fraction of annual GDP. Haven deposits is foreign deposits held in the 17 countries classified as havens. Non-haven deposits is foreign deposits held in the countries not classified as havens” (World Bank Feb 2020).

Nation Haven (million USD) Non-Haven (million USD)
Benin 42 96
Cape Verde 14 20
Central African Republic 18 53
Chad 11 91
Comoros 7 27
Democratic Republic of Congo 910 93
Cote d’Ivoire 387 787
Gambia 24 82
Guinea 54 114
Kenya 1277 1784
Lesotho 11 28
Senegal 253 487
Togo 82 146

Without going into deep technicalities of these operations, neither how the World Bank came through these numbers. We can see there is a staggering amount of funds that disappear and goes missing. Which was supposed to go to development or directly to support the state functions. Which happens to end up in tax-havens, surely by someone closely associated with the state or heads of state. Since, these sorts of amounts couldn’t have left the nations without the approval of the executive or head of state.

We can also clearly see, that some aid is directly feeding the rich and keeping tax-havens alive. Giving them financial stimulus and also covering the expenses of the elites in the respective places. There is certainly a mismanagement and a need for more oversight from the World Bank. But also more mechanisms to stop the misuse of aid. If it is supposed to help and not just create a very vastly elite in the nation in question. Because, with this sort of operations, they have clearly achieved that. Peace.

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Rwanda: The men who aim at Kagame will fall, example Kizito Mihigo

“I sing peace and forgiveness, I launch a permanent call for reconciliation”Kizito Mihigo

Again, this story has been played out before, this is not new and neither is it spectacular. A man who was detained three days ago, suddenly takes suicide in Prison is the official statement from Rwanda National Police. A man who was in isolation and in solitary confinement. After being charged with trying to illegal cross the borders into Burundi.

A man who has targeted the authorities, who has addressed the ills of the state of affairs. Been charged ten-years for treason in 2014 and Presidential Pardoned in 2018. Suddenly out of nowhere takes his own life in early 2020. That seems a bit too far-fetched that he would do that now. After all his been through.

 “This Monday morning, Kizito was found dead in police cell at Remera Station. He was recently arrested while attempting to bribe his way out of the country illegally” (Rwanda Broadcasting Agency, 17.02.2020).

The one I am describing is the government critic and gospel singer Kizito Mihigo. We know how far the state goes in monitoring the lives of their dissidents as this 2017 report states:

“During the treason trial of singer Kizito Mihigo and journalist Cassien Ntamuhanga in April 2014, prosecutors allegedly adduced intercepted phone and skype messages from the accused expressing their dissatisfaction with the government and conspiring to overthrow it” (CIPESA – ‘Shadow Report on the State of Freedom of Expression Online in Rwanda’ 31.10.2017).

They are directly wire-tapping and using this material in courts to detain him. They were targeting the man an collecting evidence on him. That is what they state did. That is why the next article is interesting in the manner of things.

An article named “Nakandi: INVESTIGATION: BBC Journalist Nshimiyimana Genocide Files Leak” released on the 29th April 2014 says this: “According to Police records, on March 11, opposition Rwanda National Congress leader Callixte Nsabimana alias Sankara told Mihigo of a plan to secure the latter’s stay in London after releasing a series of songs backing the overthrow of Kagame’s government. The RNC official also showed Mihigo the message he had received from journalist Nshimiyimana. It read: “Reka nkwereke msg anyohereje. “Umubaze azaze anyure kuri BBC TV and radio. Bamukorera PR atigeze abona mbere (Let me show you the message he has sent. “Ask him to come and be on BBC TV and Radio. They will give him the kind of PR he has never seen.” Asked whether he would be available for the TV interview on April 7, Mihigo answered: “With pleasure.” Rwandan authorities did not wait for Mihigo to appear on BBC. He was arrested and incarcerated” (Chimp Investigations Team on Africaspeaks.com).

We can see that his songs was so critical of the government, that they landed him in trouble. Were his connection was also added the pressure, as Sankara last year was arrested and detained for his association with rebels who fought to end the Presidency of Kagame.

However, the authorities could manufacture that, as he was a critic, but also someone who wanted positive change. Nevertheless, he never got to see that and his final demise was in the chambers of the authorities. On their watch, they let him die and most likely they did something more, than what they are saying. Since, someone who had already been charged with treason years earlier. Would be able to face more jail-time for trying cross the borders days earlier. He had the strength to be behind bars for fours years. He could muster up strength for a few more days now. That is why the suicide doesn’t add up.

I will end with some lyrics from ‘the Meaning of Death’ from 2014 :

“Death is the worst thing that can happen, yet something that creates a good road that leads to something better than anything else’” (…)

“There is no good death, whether genocide, the civil war, being killed in revenge attacks, or dying from illness’” (…)

“Those relatives, wherever they are seated, they pray for us” (…)

“Though the genocide orphaned me, let it not make me lose empathy for others. Their lives, too, were brutally taken but not qualified as genocide. Those brothers and sisters, they too are human beings. I pray for them. I comfort them. I remember them” (.Kizito Mihigo, 2014).

He wrote about death, now he has met the same master, as his fatality happen under the guard of the state in their chambers. That’s why they write the story and tell his demise was set a certain way. Even if that seems unreasonable and intolerable. As these sort of affairs only happens to critics and the likes who offends the President.

Kizito Mihigo only dared to question the authorities through lyrics and songs. Because of that, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) deemed that fit to take his life. So, don’t challenge Kagame, he will hunt you down and ensure you stop breathing. Peace.

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