Dr Syed Kamall is the Conservative MEP for London and until recently was the Conservative Spokesman for International Trade.
Last week, I returned from Cote d' Ivoire where I co-chaired a winter school on the Principles of a Free Society for young centre-right politicians from Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Tanzania and Uganda. The winter school was organised by the Conservative Party Westminster Foundation for Democracy programme, the Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation, an organisation connected to the Swedish Moderata party and the Democratic Union of Africa (DUA).
The seminars were based on Principles for a Free Society, a short book written by British Academic Dr Nigel Ashford who now teaches at the Institute of Humane Studies at George Mason University in Washington DC. The book outlines the values that underpin a free, democratic and open society and includes chapters on Private Property, The Rule of Law, Free Enterprise and Justice.
During our discussions, I heard harrowing details of beatings, rape and other physical violence opposition politicians have had to endure from left-wing governments across the continent. Here were some incredibly bright and brave individuals who wanted to reverse the damage caused by dictators who post-independence had adopted Marxist policies as a backlash against colonisation.
Over the three days, I asked the participants for their views on what policies an incoming Conservative government should adopt towards developing countries. Their responses fell into the following categories:
- They want us to fight EU protectionism which harms farmers and African entrepreneurs trying to export to the EU.
- They would like to see the British government doing more to tackle our EU neighbours on their support of corrupt regimes.
- While aid is welcome for short-term disaster relief and to help the most vulnerable, they were suspicious of long term development aid. Some were even against foreign aid altogether - especially direct budgetary support - since they felt it helped to keep corrupt governments in power.
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