The hole of Mongu

In Zambia, many years of Dutch development aid have yielded precious little, Bram Vermeulen discovers. Are the Chinese doing better now, under the motto 'trade, not aid'? Mongu, an area in the far west of Zambia, was called the thirteenth province of our country. From the 1970s onwards, it was teeming with Dutch development workers who wanted to bring civilization to this wet, flat area. For example, by dredging a canal, a job worth tens of millions of euros. That would make shipping possible and thus boost the entire economy. Bram Vermeulen looks at what happened with former development worker René Lourens. Not much, as it soon becomes apparent. Aid has dried up and instead of an embassy with 45 people, the Netherlands only has a small consulate with three employees in Zambia. In Mongu, people regret the end of Dutch aid.