Gordon Brown's call for a Marshall Plan for Africa

By Alex Singleton | 3 June 2005

On the television today (BBC World), I discussed UK finance minister Gordon Brown's latest announcements on helping Africa, calling for a modern-day Marshall Plan. I was critical of his call for huge increases in aid, pointing out that between 1960 and 1997, Africa received the equivalent of six Marshall Plans of foreign aid.

Instead, I said the government should put getting rid of EU protectionism as its number one priority, letting Africans free access to our markets. I was also critical of the way the government is ignoring the UN International Year of Microcredit. Providing start-up capital to small business in Africa provides a much more effective approach to sustainable development in Africa than top-down aid.