Tajikistan receives more than $1 (R7.22) billion in remittances each year from Tajiks overseas, equivalent to a staggering 36 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the notoriously corrupt country, says Foreign Policy
Because most of the country’s 7 million citizens lack sanitation, clean drinking water and health care, you might think that this influx of cash is a saving grace for Tajiks on the receiving end. Not necessarily, warns Foreign Policy.
According to a new study of 111 countries between 1990 and 2000 by the International Monetary Fund (IMF):
Since the government assumes citizens with help from abroad will turn to the private sector for essential services such as health care and education, leaders face little pressure to change.
Not everyone is persuaded by the study’s findings, says Foreign Policy. Dilip Ratha, a World Bank expert on remittances, argues that though the risk of dependency on remittances does exist, one has to put things in perspective and recognise that the good things completely swamp the bad.
But if a little extra cash helps a family get through tough times, it can also buy a corrupt government time to stall reform, says Foreign Policy.
Source: The Remittance Curse, Foreign Policy, July/August 2008.
For more on International Issues: http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_Category=26
FMF Policy Bulletin/ 05 August 2008
