Where does all the money go?! – by Ellen

We drove through Sesheke, the town to which we had just paid our district council tax in the rotting caravan. Sadly, there was no evidence that any of the council tax was being put into that town. With each person crossing the border paying about £4, I don’t think it seems too silly to assume that the Sesheke council should have quite a bit of money coming in each month – money earned by taxing tourists, not Zambians: essentially, money for nothing. And yet there was no evidence that any money had been put into maintaining, let alone developing, the town. The roads were in shocking condition, by far the worst we’d encountered so far. Not only were there more pot holes than road, but there were speed humps situated directly in front of deep and unavoidable pot-holes; the front of the car still bears the scars from that encounter. The streets were lined with litter, buildings were crumbling, and there seemed to be a general feeling of despair and tragedy about the town.

So where does this money go to? And the carbon tax? Not on any sort of ‘cleaner exhaust’ campaign, for example. And the road tax? Certainly not on the roads. Seeing the money crossing the border it is hard not to think that, just perhaps, a lack of money is not the issue in Africa. But rather the infrastructure and guarantee that the money will be put where it is supposed to go, and put where it is needed. And then, if money is not the issue, then does this extend to aid money? For decades money has been pouring into the developing world, and yet there is still poverty. With this self-generated money coming in and going seemingly no-where, can the answer really be more money?

Answers on a postcard please.