Idea for New Development Strategy for Norway

[The Voice of Time]

The Uganda situation has poked some thoughts into me and caused me to loose a bit of faith in the current Norwegian development strategies in poor countries. Of course, it's not superbad, but it's very unsatisfactory still. It seems fragmented, lacking of vision and even a kind of disinterest in its own actions.

While in the Uganda situation Norway has chosen to withhold money, so in that regard we did show interest, I'm thinking that more generally we don't really care enough about the greater effects of how money is spent. We do not actually fully engage in the problems we try to solve, we are more like a kind aunt who sends money to her nephew (I have such an aunt so I'm making an IRL comparison), because she wants to incentivize or because the nephew requests money, but she doesn't engage with the nephew (talking about Norway), the Norwegian government doesn't engage with the ones they try to help. Instead, there's a kind of distanced relationship consisting of money transactions, a talk once in a while, and slightly vague and fragmented goals.

I think really that this has to change. There must be a change from fragmentation to concentration, from lacking of vision to macro-economic AND local economic detailed overall strategical investments in economical- and welfare infrastructure following a long-term strategy, which is quantifiable and quality-analysable, and where we engage in constant close talks with the government and the people to support a superb line of communication throughout the population, and acquire allied common fronted effort against the problems we're facing, with a guarantee that we are supported where we go and that people vote us to come to them, actively voting in referendums, for us to come there and be intimate strategical partners, and that we know our efforts are appreciated and desired and welcomed... all in all, we must develop a relationship with the nation in question, its government and with its people, that is healthy, long-term, effective, efficient, open and close enough that we are united in our causes and that the relationship inspires confidence in the people who are getting jobs and getting health, an optimism about their future, and a dependability that they can look forward to future rewards in following a specific path.

With this kind of thinking in mind, I was thinking specifically if we (Norway and possibly partners, as an example of good development strategy) shouldn't create a "5 SEPs Program" ("5 Socially, Economically and Politically developing states Program"), where we promise huge monetary spending, as well as assorted capital aid (social capital, education and training, etc.) distributed on the 5 countries that qualify for it (their first and primary qualification must be that the vision they have for their country is deemed wise in terms of a cause-effect relationship, and deemed good in a principal manner, meaning that they have to have a vision on ethics, management and social progress that doesn't contradict significantly with a Norwegian sense of good justice, human welfare and fundamental rights), but where each country that wants to join must apply themselves, where the partnership must be blessed by a majority in government, blessed by a majority in a national referendum with good and consequence-clear information distributed so people knows what they are voting for, and with at least two thirds blessing in local referendums, to make certain that 1) we are wanted by the leadership, 2) we are wanted by the population, 3) we are only working in the localities that we are the most wanted in and where our presence causes the least possible protest or resentment and is instead desired and welcomed.

Ideas for how the tight relationship will work:

1) Help develop excellent bureaus that help with local start-up capital, subsidized local banking, social capital, information and even strategical local infrastructure, like roads or small solar power-stations.
2) Help develop and brand local products in developing countries and ship them to the Norwegian market, through mechanisms such as small grants for supermarkets and other stores to buy local branded products from the developing country and put them on shelves and help sell them. As well as paying for advertisement to raise awareness of the products and get consumer confidence in them, ensuring people that the products are quality products and safe.
3) Help develop companies and expertise that can locally supply the demand that is in the local and national market of that nation. Some nations have more demand than they are able to fill, and detailing and getting to know that demand is important in getting an efficient market up and running... for instance, housing, to help develop a market for long-term loans on houses and ensure a stability in the paying of the loans, you could ensure that the people who take up the loans have social security in case they loose their job for instance (if small measures can minimize total defaults, then you can build more houses, because people will not suddenly have to sell their houses if their personal economy is temporarily in a low... this way the number of houses on sale in the market is minimized while the number of people acquiring a house and paying off a mortgage is maximized).
4) Incentivise Norwegians and companies from other nations to invest in the country by offering subsidized loans for instance, and insurance against economic and political instability that might disturb the environment on which a business depends.
5) To keep expertise in the country, anything from doctors to government specialists, we could have a program where people sign contracts to work in the country for a minimal amount of years, and then some more years after that by non-binding agreement, and have them receive special benefits to do that. Like again, subsidized loans to get good housing, a subsidized car loan, a guaranteed entrance for their kids into well-off schools, and possibly grants to supply their working place with necessary equipment that they may maximize their expertise.