In my next life I'd like to come back as a European consultant in Africa

How many times have I offered my knowledge , expertise and lived experiences in Liberia to roving consultants in Liberia? I can't count the number of times. Enough is enough.  

I'm infuriated because my opinions and knowledge are freely consumed to benefit international consultants who often times have never lived/worked in Liberia or even the region yet, somehow landed consultancies. 

I'm getting supremely annoyed by this. Is this development? And who is being developed? Salary bank accounts or who? 

Moreover, it seems that the donors are driving the same recycled agendas concerning youth, education, health, capacity building, governance, what have you. NGOs and these interesting characters called contractors (which USAID uses) respond to these thematic calls by writing the same proposals over and over again. 

Just recently I donated more than 2 hours of my time to a meeting with not 1 but 3 consultants who wanted to know how my business could use youth trained by their project. 

I hired 2 such apprentices for our company a few years ago through another similar programme implemented by an American NGO where I worked at a few years ago. I have applied several times for a Youth project at this NGO (where I incidentally worked before) demonstrating my knowledge and expertise in the area of business, management and development (an intersection which few folks have) and failed to even get an interview. 

I am livid at this system.  

So, I actually hired 2 young women in good faith through this Youth programme, wanting to play ball with the system. I lost one of the apprentices to a higher-paying NGO after putting in years of time training her from scratch. I am glad she is better paid but it seems the development agency is merely appropriating everything in its self-serving mission. 

Both Haresh and I were shocked with the shallow analysis and level of discussion: 

1 ) But how many people were trained by that American NGO (no clue and instead advised to go look at the USAID website)?

2) What lessons were gained from that and similar previous projects? 

3) How integrated is this project with the state and its structures? 

4) Does the youth really need bookkeeping skills ? Marketing skills? 

5) How many Liberians are self employed in small businesses ? Carpentry? Tech repairs/services ? Mechanics? Tailors? Salons? Masons? Do you have such numbers? 

6) What is the economic weather ? What are the market conditions? Is this what is really needed right now? 

7) Do small businesses need capital and state support or a 3-month workshop in bookkeeping? 

8) There is such a big informal economy in Liberia where both men and women are doing small business to survive? Is lack of bookkeeping keeping them back? What analysis have you done there? 

9) Why should established businesses continue to employ apprentices , train them from scratch, support them, absorb them in our business so your project can succeed and look good for your final report? 

10) Which institutions will you use to train the youth? The ones they listed are all pre-war institutions like BWI or YMCA (which I know from my DDRR days and these same institutions were used by the same agencies to train ex-combatants). Has any investment been done in these institutions ? Have you all helped to build world-class facilities? Do these institutions have stable electricity? Do they have qualified world class instructors and teachers?

11) How many jobs are even out there?  

The obsession with youth and their potential for violence and attempts to distract them from their own frustration and anger at their own condition is one of the core pillars of development policy. This youth is being gobbled up by right wing political waves from Trump's America to Modi's India to militarised and mullazied Pakistan. This youth is hurling abuse at the Black Lives Movement. This youth is voting for Brexit. This youth is refusing to be vaccinated. This youth is selling socks in wintry Islamabad in December. This youth , often time university degree-ed, is driving cabs in the Gulf. This youth is selling biscuits on the streets of Monrovia. This youth is cooking and selling food on the streets of Monrovia. This youth is lynching Muslims in India or poor Christians in Pakistan.  The right wing states and powers distract this youth while chances to get a piece of an ever shrinking pie are getting slimmer. And what do policymakers have for them? Little small workshops in bookkeeping and business skills so they might learn how to do business which might then help feed them. 

I am frustrated and angry at so many levels. The development industry's analysis of socio-economic conditions is extremely shallow and predicated on such artificial capitalist short term assumptions. But it is also severely hypocritical and racist. In more developed countries, the state as a minimum has to invest in youth through quality education, education and vocational institutions which have decent facilities, stimulus for small businesses , decent healthcare and functioning infrastructure. What do they do in poor countries? 

They want youth to give up their time away from making money to feed themselves to participate in workshops to learn how to add columns and write reports for a few weeks, throw them at businesses for free and, then claim they supported the youth. Not only is it patronising but so disingenuous. 

International development is so short term and so devoid of structural analysis. They are not interested in building or supporting structures. They are not interested in ensuring structures are permanent. Everything revolves around pimple-faced consultants flying through , whirlwind meetings and workshops. Everything can be solved by these geniuses. And, everyone agreeing to giving them a free ride.

To this, last night at a lovely party, my cynical artist friend who is going back to his home country in Europe because nothing works and things aren't really improving : "In my next life I'd like to come back as a European consultant in Africa."