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Laws and Charters

Abstract

Whereas a billion people may sound like much, it only accounts for approximately 20%

of the world’s population. The Bottom Billion refers to this 20% of the population that lives in

the bottom sixty least developed countries. During the cold war, the Bottom Billion formed an

integral part of the fallen policies of the developed world as they attempted to convince them to

follow either communism or capitalism but this pretend-concern fizzled out at the end of the

Cold War (Collier 19). Currently, with 80% of the world doing well, it becomes difficult to keep

the developed world interested enough about the plight of the Bottom Billion to feel inclined to

do something about it. However, to assuage their guilt the populaces of the developed world

makes some donations and have them sent over in the name of aid and also occasionally send

some assistance through their governments. The only real contact between the Bottom Billion

and the developed world, however, is trade and it is through this point of contact that real change

can be motivated. Paul Collier, an Economics Professor at the Oxford University in his 2007

book The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About

It takes a unique look at the situation: he looks at the efforts by the developed and developing

countries which count for about 80% of the world’s population towards the remaining 20%

which he terms as the Bottom Billions

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Introduction

In most cases, the developed world looks at the least developed world from an “it is your

fault” perspective and creates the impression of a good developed world always trying to look

out for the hapless least developed countries. The pumping of aid into the Bottom Billion

Countries for decades has not worked at all, and has even been counterproductive in many

instances as the money ends up in dictators’ pockets who then use it to cling to power (Collier

23). The developed countries would then use dictatorship as an excuse for curtailing aid creating

a vicious cycle. If the developed countries would seek a solution within them, and change their

ways of interacting with the Bottom Billion through clear cut trade laws and solid preconditions,

would this be the missing key in bridging the gap between the developing and the Bottom

Billion?

The Laws

In a scathing attack on the developed countries, Collier indicates that in some instances, it

is the villains in the self-righteous developed world that cause more damages to the Bottom

Billion economy that even the rogues are looting in the Bottom Billion nations themselves

(Collier 152). All serious trade in Bottom Billion countries is conducted in conjunction with the

developed countries and, therefore, any and all economic crimes so committed are either aided

by the developed countries and their agents or at least condoned by them. There are two major

areas in which the developed countries through trade condone crimes.

The payment of Bribes and Kick Backs

Among the most villainous law backed corruption support activity by a developed

country in the furtherance of corruption is the legal granting of tax rebates for monies given as

bribes to Bottom Line Countries in order to win tenders and contracts by members of the

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Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (Collier 154). The irony in

the entire scenario is that one of the fundamental principles of the OECD is the pursuance of

democracy and good practices. It is one thing to condone corruption but yet another thing

entirely to pass laws that literally encourage corruption and use taxpayer’s money to compensate

companies that indulge in corruption (Milliet-Einbinder 39).

Banking and Laundering loots

The second form of corruption encouragement and support is the laundering and banking

of monies clearly obtained through illegal means. When a government employee in a Bottom

Billion Nation approaches a bank seeking to deposit 1Billion US dollars, a banker will clearly

tell that the money has been illegally procured. There are two approaches the banker would take

the high road, refuse and report the crime or decide to maximize the profits by getting premium

rates on the understanding that the money has been laundered. Unfortunately, it is the latter path

that the developed nations have for many years chosen to follow. From Sani Abacha to Iddi

Amin, bankers in the develop world have raked in billions of US dollars doing business with the

plunderers of the Bottom Billion.

Creation of Substantive Laws

The existence of tax rebates for bribes may have already been eliminated but there is

need for substantive prohibitory and punitive laws that stop commercial interest groups from

developed countries from aiding and abetting corruption on the Bottom Billion nations. The

Great Britain is on the forefront of this endeavor with tough measures including giving actual jail

times to executives of countries found to be abetting corruption. A good example regards

Nicholas Smith and Christopher Smith, executives at the Smith and Ouzman Company who were

held criminally liable for a Kenyan scandal dubbed Chicken Gate that involved corruption in a

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contractual relationship with the Kenya independent elections body IEBC and its national

examinations body KNEC. Nicholas Charles Smith was sentenced to three years in prison.

There should also be established proper Laws for the recovery of monies misappropriated

from Bottom Billion nations and stashed in foreign banks. One of the biggest culprits in this

sector is the celebrated banking industry of Switzerland who despite massive effort by countries

like Nigeria to recover the massive amounts plundered and stored there has declined to release

the same despite the fact that it has been clearly established that the money was illegally

acquired.

Charters

Studies have established that good governance is directly related to economic growth. A

credible democratic system coupled with a transparent economic policy will almost always

guarantee economic growth and with time, prosperity. It has also been established through

credible research and study that in majority of the Bottom Billion nations, economic growth is

hampered by poor political structures and corruption. Unless and until this is cured, the Bottom

Billion nations will remain poor despite any amounts being issued in aid (Masters 1159).

Whereas the developed countries cannot be able to pass laws and effect them within the Bottom

Billion nations, it possible for them to create a set of notions and rules and by using the Carrot

and Stick formulae cause the Bottom Billion Countries to effect these norms and rules.

Most of the trade in Bottom Billion nations is vested in agricultural products and

minerals. These products are only profitable to the Bottom Billion nations if the developed

community provides both a market and a means for their exploitation. It is this capacity that

enables the developed nations to be able to revolutionize the political and economic policies of

the Bottom Dollar nations without ever interfering with their sovereignty. A good example of

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this is the influence towards positive change that the European Union has had on the Eastern

European countries that broke away at the fall of the USSR and desired to become a part of

European Union.

These nations were aware that the European Union embodies a philosophy dubbed acquis

communautaire and for them to be acceptable into the Union, they needed to credibly adapt to

the ideals of this philosophy. It is the Eastern European nations desire to join the European

Union that triggered their desire and has seen great transformation in these nations who albeit

have yet to be admitted to the union, have seen great economic growth and improvement to their

populace (Masters 1157). The desire and indeed need to trade with the developed community can

be equally exploited to transform the political and economic policies of the Bottom Billion

countries.

However, there is a need to come up with concrete and well set out policies that would be

uniformly communicated to the Bottom Billion nations and the bare minimum reforms necessary

for acceptance of trade between them and commercial interests of the developed countries. This

is because due to the competition prevalent amongst the top minerals and products of the Bottom

Billion nations, unless a uniform policy is established, the Bottom Dollar nations will only move

to the next available option (Masters 1158). A credible example regards the British Petroleum

company that attempted to introduce corruption free trade exercises in the nation of Angola.

Unfortunately, the British Petroleum is only one among over 30 companies exploiting oils in

Angola and the government of Angola threatened to curtail business with any company that

would follow the example of British Petroleum, The other companies bowed to the pressure due

to fear of losing business and Angola retained its poor polices. A unified approach by all the

developed nations and their agents is therefore necessary.

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Among the Suggested Charters that ought to be introduced to substantively transform the

Bottom Billion Nations include;

A Charter for Natural Resource Revenues

Resources from the Bottom Dollar Nations emanate from natural resources including

mining and Agriculture. Most of these resources are only fruitful through trading with the

developed nations where either the finished products are sold to the developed nations like

Coffee from Kenya, or the developed nations acquire the rights to conduct mining like oils in

Angola and East Timor. The Natural Resource Revenue Charter should create modalities for the

relationship between the Companies and the Nations that ensure that no bribes are given to the

nations in order to give mining rights to the Companies (Mueller 542). This will ensure that the

nations get the proper value and a fair deal for their minerals as well as getting a means to ensure

transparency with regard to the amounts paid for the minerals. This will encourage the populace,

the civil society and the international community grounds to push for the proper utilizations of

these monies.

A Charter for Democracy

Democracy and good governance including the rule of law are fundamental to economic

growth. This Charter would ensure that for the Bottom Billion nations to be able to trade with

companies from the developed countries, they need to create modalities for the holding of free

and fair elections as well as the observation of good governance, rule of law, and respect for the

internationally recognized fundamental rights.

A Charter for Budget Transparency

This regards the overall expenditure of the Bottom Billion nations. It considers not only

the monies raised through the trade relationships between the Bottom Billion nations and the

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developed nations but also all the Bottom Billion nations’ monies whose custodian is the

government on behalf of the populace. These includes taxes, aid and donor money. Without the

proper utilization of these monies, the Bottom Dollar nations cannot rise from the cycle of

poverty. The best way to ensure a proper utilization of monies is to ensure that all expenditure is

allowed to be subject to scrutiny by the populace. This will discourage pillage and also

encourage the populace to clamor for proper utilization of the same.

A Charter for Post-conflict Situations

Most Bottom Billion nations suffer unstable regimes which every now and then lead to

conflicts armed or popular. The conduct of the government after a conflict shall determine the

capacity of that nation to recover from the usually devastating effects of the conflict. Whether

there is a regime change or not, it is important to have a charter that clearly states the steps that

the new regime need to take for the developed nations to resume commerce with the particular

states (Mueller 543). This will ensure that the best post-conflict measures are put in place to

ensure quick recovery.

A Charter for Investment

The economy cannot achieve growth without private capital, which come as a result of

credibility. The Charter for investment should set out the steps that the Bottom Dollar nations

need to take to boost their credibility so as to attract investment. An international investor

requires an assurance that an advantageous environment will be created and maintained for his

investment to realize a profit. An investment charter would show which modalities are sufficient

to ensure a continued environment for investment. Meaning well is not enough, the Bottom

Billion nation needs to know what modalities to put in place and how to endure they remain in

place before investment trickles in.

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Conclusion

Most Bottom Billion Nations have been in existent as independent states for over half a

Century. That they are still within the Bottom Dollar categorization clearly means that their

experiment has failed and they require help. Further, the current help in the form of trade and aid

has clearly failed as the Bottom Dollar nations have remained so despite the trade and aid being

in place for decades. There is a need for a comprehensive formula to ensure that the developed

nations unite as one, including the Peoples Republic of China and peg commerce to reforms in a

manner that is both comprehensible and testable. As the Bottom Billion nations cannot exist

without this trade, they shall be both motivated and compelled to change without any

interference with the nation’s sovereignty. Clearly, the formulae outlined in the Law and Charter

chapter of The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done

about It can go a long way in the achievement of this objective.

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Works Cited

Collier, Paul. The Bottom Billion: Why the poorest countries are failing and what can be done

about it. London: Oxford University press. 2007. Print.

Masters, William. The Bottom Billion: Why The Poorest Countries Are Failing And What Can

Be Done About It By Collier, Paul. American journal of agricultural economics 91.4 (2009),

1157-1159.

Milliet-Einbinder, Martine. Writing off tax deductibility. OECD Observer, 220 (2000), 38-40

Mueller, Susanne. The Bottom Billion: Why the poorest countries are failing and what can be

done about it. International journal of African historical studies, 40.3 (2007), 542-546

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