"If you are not giving money to dictators in Europe, why do you fund the dictators in Africa?"
Stephen Moore: Unleash Prosperity Hotline – When Secretary of State Marco Rubio moved to shut down the Agency for International Development last January, he noted that it had largely become a global charity for non-profit grifters. He announced the U.S. would now promote "trade over aid, opportunity over dependency, and investment over assistance."
Now, even the recipients of the foreign aid racket admit it inhibits economic development.
Uganda's main opposition leader is demanding a freeze on all foreign funding as that country prepares to vote this week:
"We're not asking the West or the international community to come and save us, but we're asking them not to sponsor our oppression," says Bobi Wine, a pop star-turned-politician.. "If you are not giving money to dictators in Europe, why do you fund the dictators in Africa?"
Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema has also stepped forward to publicly agree with Rubio's new policy. He says cuts to U.S. foreign aid were "long overdue" and offered his country the chance to "take care of our own affairs."
"It is basically a wake-up call," Hichilema told Britain's Daily Telegraph last month. "We in Zambia, we on this continent, have been sleeping on duty. It is our duty to ensure service delivery to our population.”
Hichilema, a businessman who was elected in 2021 with 60% of the vote, has moved to restore confidence in the country. He has streamlined licensing, cut public employees, and paid off foreign debt. Most importantly, he reversed the expropriation of the copper mines that the previous government began. Zambia's economic growth hit 5.8% in 2025 and is projected to be even higher this year.
