The fact that so many problems persist despite tens of billions of dollars of assistance and years of effort is a sad reminder that aid can allow governments to undertake foolish investments that accomplish little, or can easily be siphoned off by corrupt officials. Moreover, aid is inherently uncertain, leaving Africans at the mercy of outside forces beyond their control.
但是援助并非万能药。虽然我们给出了价值成百上千亿美元的援助，并且多年来不断做出努力，但是诸多问题依然存在的事实却让我们悲哀地意识到，援助能够允许政府进行愚蠢的、毫无收益的投资，或者被贪污官员轻而易举地霸占。此外，援助本身的不确定性使得非洲人民在他们无法控制的外部力量下任人摆布。