Last week's editorial by Demba Moussa Dembele on aid dependence and the MDGs was posted on the Afro-nets discussion list (http://list.healthnet.org/mailman/listinfo/afro-nets) and provoked the following responses:

Kris Dev wrote: At the cost of sounding cynical, I would like to call upon all Africa and Asia to stop this business of aid and doles.

If people have to die, let them die of poverty. Let the rest live in plenty. After all are not thousands dying in inter ethnic clashes, violence and terrorism?

It is honourable to die poor than to die as a beggar. Let there be no opportunity for the political leaders of Africa and Asia to rape their nations aided by the rich nations, at the cost of their poor and downtrodden, whom they are expected to protect, but end up fleecing and bleeding to death.

There should be no currency circulation and all transactions must be transparent to the public to question leaders, trace and reverse the wrong doings on real time basis. No Swiss accounts or stashed money in No Man's Island (a tax haven!!)

Patrick Mbindyo replied: Are you talking about "political leaders" or "predatory leaders"? If they are political and leaders, that is one thing. What we mostly see are predatory leaders who believe in death while rich or death while trying (to paraphrase a popular rap artist). The ones I know got into parliament and immediately increased their salaries and allowances. When the civil servants agitated for an increase, they gave them some paltry sums (after firing some and threatening the rest with dire consequences!) compared to what they gave themselves. What happens when the problem is not the west?