Alan Gelb is quoted in an article about oil in Chad.
From the article:
There's clearly no shortage of cash, but, after 10 years of elevated income, the country still performs poorly across a host of development indicators – literacy is 34%, under-five mortality 169 per 1,000 live births, and the country was 184th out of 187 in the UN's latest human development index. There is a chronic lack of skilled professionals – a handful of gynaecologists, one psychiatrist and a few hundred midwives, for example.
Civil society is quick to accuse the government, and in particular the president, Idriss Déby, of prioritising easy infrastructure projects such as roads and buildings, such as Doba University and a 25,000-seat sports stadium. "We don't deny there are physical changes but there's no point having a school if there are no teachers to work there," says Therese Mekombe, president of Chad's women's jurist association.
"Most countries have a fixation with infrastructure, especially when there's a windfall," says Alan Gelb, senior fellow at the Center for Global Development. "Part of it is genuine, because there can be a physical transformation, but governments often end up paying a very high price and there is a tremendous opportunity for corruption through the contracts-issuing process."
Read it here.
