(Sky News-UK) Tim Marshall - An African UN worker in the West Bank recently remarked to a mutual friend, "'When people see me coming they see a walking ATM machine." There are well over 200 NGOs in the West Bank and Gaza, and 30% of its GDP comes from international aid. Palestinians are among the most foreign aid funded people in the world and the place is awash with money. Even if the Palestinians declare full statehood in September they would not be truly independent because Palestine is addicted to aid and as long as you are addicted you are in thrall to your supplier. The billions that pour in mean the Palestinian Authority does not need to try very hard to deliver services. It also stifles the private sector, inflates wages and causes an internal "brain drain" as the NGOs recruit the best of the local talent. This is not to argue that NGOs are not required, many are, but they distort the situation, and fundamentally the Palestinians cannot have properly functioning businesses, nor be fully independent, until their leaders are partially weaned off their addiction to other peoples' money.
2011-07-21 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive