Bullshit bingo for aid workers - part 1

We had the umpteenth World Bank mission this year over today at the office; this time for an initiative they call the Integrated Framework, which is supposed to put trade as a central concern in the country’s development program. Talk about pointing out the obvious. But before there is anything to trade, let’s first make sure this country’s production gets back on its feet. I am just worried they are setting up another usine à gaz, with their overstaffed missions, mobilizing scarce donor and government human resources for yet another initiative they dump on others. Their Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers usually turn into large shopping lists (strategies imply strategic choices –PRSPs rarely make any) and often don’t have much added value if you ask me, but, hey, it feeds a lot of consultant families.

I am only in my second year in the development business, way too early to be cynical, you will say. Let’s say it helps me cope with various frustrations of the work. In the same vein I am also the proud inventor of two applications of two much abused terms in the development jargon, ‘synergy’ and ‘complementarity’. I am offering this advice for free to all those suffering in inane meetings in the development business, and I guess in many other businesses as well. It goes as follows:

• When another donor/department/institution/Ministry/company does, or proposes to do, something that is basically a complete waste of time and money because you or some other donor/etc. is already doing it (and better) than you say that you expect there to be a great deal of synergy between your respective activities...
• If on the other hand what they propose has nothing to do whatsoever with what you are doing (or what you think they should really be doing), then emphasize that you see tremendous scope for complementarity between the two of you....

Believe me, this works, and it will get you through any meeting! (And why not produce a bullshit bingo game for development workers...). Pity I didn’t try it today on the WB people, but that would have kept them (and the boss, who was in shape today) talking even longer.

On a more cheerful note: I did one of my very rare field trips today, 2,5 sweaty hours to have a look at a fish farm cum hatchery run by a collective applying for a small subsidy from our micro-realisations project. This is the real thing. Providing real opportunities for real people doing real work. It’s small, but it can work, and there’s a beautiful quiet dignity in these people which only work and a reasonable income can provide.

The Americans killed Al-Zawahari today, which is a good thing. It wasn’t subtle: two 500-pounders on one house. Amazing though how they can’t seem to get hold of the other Al Qaida baddies. There was a 25 million dollar prize on Al-Zawahiri’s head, bingo! I wonder if there is now a jihadi snitch taking an advance on paradise, getting into a CIA witness protection programme to go and live in the American countryside with 70 virgins and a massive bank account.