Just read this on CNN Text and it confirms what I always thought unfortunately..
Most Aid wasted, say agencies
Red tape, inefficiency and nepotism mean that only one fifth of International aid
actually gets to the people who need it, aid agencies said on monday.
Not only that, but 40% of international aid is spent buying overpriced goods and services from the donor's own country.(!!)
Action Aid and Oxfam said in a Joint report calling for urgent reform of a politically compromised system.
Most Aid wasted, say agencies
King buys new limo, urges fight against poverty
AFP
February 21, 2005
MBABANE: Swazi King Mswati III has bought a new Mercedes limousine, the latest in a string of luxury car purchases for himself and his 10 wives in the southern African kingdom.
The 36-year-old king caused a stir on Friday when he turned up at the opening of parliament in his latest acquisition and ordered his bodyguards to block photographers from taking pictures of the new Mercedes S-Class Pullman.
"We were strictly told that we cannot take pictures of the king while alighting from his car," a local photographer told AFP.
In his speech in parliament, Mswati urged the nation to join hands to fight poverty, which he said had reached alarmingly high levels.
More than 65 per cent of Swaziland's 1.2 million inhabitants live on less than one dollar a day and some 200,000 people depend on food hand-outs to survive in the kingdom, wedged between South Africa and Mozambique.
The Times of Swaziland reported on Sunday that the king was the first person in Africa to own such a limousine which it said boasts a separate air-conditioning system for passengers in the rear and an ultra-modern audio system.
A royal source told AFP that the Mercedes arrived at Ludzidzini on Wednesday.
The Times earlier this month reported that the king had purchased 10 new BMWs for his wives at a cost of five million emalangeni ($820,000).
Mswati, who has ruled Swaziland by decree since he ascended to the throne in 1986 at the age of 18, in November bought himself a luxury Maybach 62 sedan from Daimler Chrysler.
That vehicle is equipped with a television, DVD player, 21-speaker surround-sound system, refrigerator, heated steering wheel, interior pollen and dust filter, and sterling silver champagne flutes.
AFP
AFP
February 21, 2005
MBABANE: Swazi King Mswati III has bought a new Mercedes limousine, the latest in a string of luxury car purchases for himself and his 10 wives in the southern African kingdom.
The 36-year-old king caused a stir on Friday when he turned up at the opening of parliament in his latest acquisition and ordered his bodyguards to block photographers from taking pictures of the new Mercedes S-Class Pullman.
"We were strictly told that we cannot take pictures of the king while alighting from his car," a local photographer told AFP.
In his speech in parliament, Mswati urged the nation to join hands to fight poverty, which he said had reached alarmingly high levels.
More than 65 per cent of Swaziland's 1.2 million inhabitants live on less than one dollar a day and some 200,000 people depend on food hand-outs to survive in the kingdom, wedged between South Africa and Mozambique.
The Times of Swaziland reported on Sunday that the king was the first person in Africa to own such a limousine which it said boasts a separate air-conditioning system for passengers in the rear and an ultra-modern audio system.
A royal source told AFP that the Mercedes arrived at Ludzidzini on Wednesday.
The Times earlier this month reported that the king had purchased 10 new BMWs for his wives at a cost of five million emalangeni ($820,000).
Mswati, who has ruled Swaziland by decree since he ascended to the throne in 1986 at the age of 18, in November bought himself a luxury Maybach 62 sedan from Daimler Chrysler.
That vehicle is equipped with a television, DVD player, 21-speaker surround-sound system, refrigerator, heated steering wheel, interior pollen and dust filter, and sterling silver champagne flutes.
AFP
-
Liquid Len
- Posts: 652
- Joined: Tue Dec 09, 2003 4:00 pm
- Location: Home By The Sea
The obvious and rarely uttered answer to this and many other corruptions in the world is "RETALIATION".
People need to find some way to come together and cripple/kill those in corrupt power. I'm not talking about overthrowing a country, but burning a personal car or knee-capping them outside a bar is definitely progress. I've always had plans to hunt out SPAM e-mail sources and take 'vigilante' action.
Its shitty that goverments see 'anti' organizations as a 'problem' when most governments in place today were spawned from that exact form of union. USA? duh.
Remember... Knee-capping... Burned cars... spray painted houses. Phone ordered hookers. Do you need to watch 'fight club' to find a reason?
rock,
8
People need to find some way to come together and cripple/kill those in corrupt power. I'm not talking about overthrowing a country, but burning a personal car or knee-capping them outside a bar is definitely progress. I've always had plans to hunt out SPAM e-mail sources and take 'vigilante' action.
Its shitty that goverments see 'anti' organizations as a 'problem' when most governments in place today were spawned from that exact form of union. USA? duh.
Remember... Knee-capping... Burned cars... spray painted houses. Phone ordered hookers. Do you need to watch 'fight club' to find a reason?
rock,
8
the king has learned well from his colonial masters. the fuhrer...err..leaders of the usa and eu nations always talk of wars on poverty while new luxuries are invented and enjoyed daily by those who could actually DO something about that poverty.
there would be no need for massive calls for aid or worries about corruption if HUMAN needs were the first consideration in the allocation of resources(real wealth), of which there is an ABUNDANCE beyond belief. all this talk of limited resources misses the point. resources are limited, yes. everything in the real world is "limited" by definition. there are no real shortages of food, water, shelter, clothing or energy, however. the real shortage is manufactured, and it is manufactured in the mind and heart, first. with the possible exceptions of volcanoes and polar caps, all wastelands are the result of human activity. the resources wasted by the lifestyle we love could feed the planet and eliminate true hardship several times over. overpopulation and want are lies made by the greedy.
there would be no need for massive calls for aid or worries about corruption if HUMAN needs were the first consideration in the allocation of resources(real wealth), of which there is an ABUNDANCE beyond belief. all this talk of limited resources misses the point. resources are limited, yes. everything in the real world is "limited" by definition. there are no real shortages of food, water, shelter, clothing or energy, however. the real shortage is manufactured, and it is manufactured in the mind and heart, first. with the possible exceptions of volcanoes and polar caps, all wastelands are the result of human activity. the resources wasted by the lifestyle we love could feed the planet and eliminate true hardship several times over. overpopulation and want are lies made by the greedy.