U.S. NGOs Kicked Out of Eritrea: Foreign Aid Is Meant To Cripple People

President Isaias Afwerki in New York City, 2011

By Ezili Dantò

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki

Interview with President Isaias Afwerki:

“Anyone who takes aid is crippled. Aid is meant to cripple people… Governments in Africa and elsewhere are not allowed to write their own programs. And when it comes to implementing programs, it deprives you of building institutions and the capacity to implement your programs…We need to write our own programs in the first place. We need to articulate on the projects we write. We need to have a comprehensive strategy, plans on how to implement those programs…Unless we do that on our own, we can’t possibly imagine that we are achieving any of the goals – millennium or non millennium.” — President Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea



Eritrean’s president has kicked the U.S. NGOs out of Eritrea. The tactics of President Afwerki of Eritrea defies the US and its imperialist policies toward Africa. All African Heads of State need to kick out the NGO charitable industrial complex and design their own reforms by themselves for their own implementation and independence.

President Isaias says African mineral resources are not sustainable for economic development in the immediacy. Developing infrastructure for this will take generations to come. Comparative advantage are of greater immediate importance. “Your location could be a comparative advantage. If you have a long coastline, then you develop fisheries, develop your services industry – shipping, transportation – air, land. Provide industry and manufacturing.”

“Africa can produce its own food and grow more. Why aren’t we able to do that?” You have to produce something. Emphasize sustainable sectors. Agriculture is a sustainable sector. You need to put in place agriculture infrastructure. It’s a strategy commodity for communities.

“You need to think least on mineral resources (for economic development)… Gold glitters but it blinds people…If you forgo agriculture because you have gold, you go into a trap. If you forgo comparative advantage that you have because you have gold, then you make a big mistake.”

Food sovereignty and local production, local manufacturing and development are more critical than depending on resource exploitation. You must have a balance, comprehensive program that takes stock of your comparative advantages in different sectors and local needs first.

“Local markets are everything.”

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At 8:33 in this video regarding on border dispute and food crisis, the Eritrean president takes on the US concept of democracy for African nations through fake elections:

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