George Ayittey writes:
In many African countries, government has now become a scourge –its institutions hijacked by the ruling vampire elites to enrich and serve their interests, not the poor. The public sector, the largest employer, is packed with cronies, relatives and party supporters ensconced in parallel institutions, useless government agencies and ministries with overlapping functions. Ghana. for example, has Ministry of Aviation, Ministry of Roads and Highways, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Road and Transport, Ministry of Ports and Railways. Why not just one Ministry of Transportation? Never mind Asked in 2004 to reduce state hegemony in the economy and play more reliance on the private sector, Ghana set up the “Ministry of Private Sector Development.“ To cut government spending, Mali established a “Ministry of Less Government Spending.” Tanzania of course has the “Ministry of Good Governance” and Uganda, the “Ministry for the Pacification of Northern Uganda” whatever that means...[more]
