L'aide française au Kenya: à qui profite-t-elle?

E. Kleemeier — French Assistance to Kenya: Who Benefits? France, almost unperceived, has become one of Kenya's top ten donors. The French ministry of Finance handles this assistance, which amounted to $230 million between 1976-1990. The aid, on extremely generous terms, was tied to accepting an equivalent value of commercial credits on onerous terms. French aid thus encouraged the tendency to finance, through commercial borrowing, huge and questionable state programs, a practice which, in large part explains the current Kenyan financial crisis. As a resuit, Kenyan—and French—taxpayers have to pay twice the intended price for the Turkwel Dam. Corruption of national decision-makers by foreign firms may be a 'fact of life' in the Third World. However, the Hessel Commission, examining development policy at the request of the French government, unambiguously excluded any role for the French ministry of Finance in supporting such perverse operations.Kleemeier Elizabeth. L'aide française au Kenya: à qui profite-t-elle?. In: Cahiers d'études africaines, vol. 31, n°121-122, 1991. La Malédiction. pp. 175-189