Editorial
Will an Obama Term II have an Africa Policy?
A younger Barack Obama with his grandmother during his first trip to Africa to visit the family of his father, Barack Obama, Sr. PHOTO/Maya Soetoro-Ng
The facts are out there: Africa is a basket case no more! The continent now has even greater natural resources in oil, agriculture and minerals. Even the continent’s people have potential: Africans are younger, more urbanized, better educated and quickly adapt to technology. Countries like China, India, Brazil and even Turkey plus the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan have taken note. These are pouring what resources they have into Africa projects, and China even has over $ 20 billion dollars in loan facilities to improve Africa’s infrastructure.
But where is America in all this? Ever since 2009, when the world hegemon was overtaken by China as the continent’s single biggest trading partner, Obamaland seems to have given up on competing for Africa’s hand in business. Many understood that Barack Obama was dealing with the internal repercussions of the global economic downturn during his first term, and most empathized that even a cursory gesture towards Africa would have smirked of his Kenyan illegitimacy to a fringe micro minority.
Now that the he has won his second and last term, it might be a good time for Africa to ask ‘their son’ for business opportunities and American investments. And we as the Diaspora want access to cheap credit so we can go home and invest in the lucrative opportunities we know exist! On top of this, we’d also hope that the venerable Obama will work towards ensuring that his fellow leaders govern equitably; that human rights will be respected in Africa, and that standards of living for the people left back home will improve as a result of more investment, better government oversight and the practice of peaceful transfer of power like has happened in Ghana and Malawi.
Realistically, the high hopes many have for an overt Obama gesture to Africa this second term will be as dashed as the ones that started to shatter after November 8, 2008. Essentially, the strident opposition he faced starting March 2009 is unrelenting; it inundates him again with internal political calculi in January 2013 as he begins his second and last term.
Nonetheless, Obama has already done so much more for the continent than he is given credit for: On top of fighting against terrorists in East Africa and supporting peace in Sierra Leone, some of his government initiatives have really smartly zeroed in on the continent. Briefly, the United States Trade Representative – the same agency that handles the African Growth and Opportunities Act [AGOA] – has been negotiating Bilateral Investment Treaties [BITs] to encourage American investors to venture into countries like Rwanda with guarantees of fair and equitable treatment, full protection and also security from their host country. Agencies like the ExIm Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation [OPIC], the Small Business Administration [SBA] and the Minority Business Development Association [MBDA] have been providing huge amounts of federal backed dollars to American citizens and the Diaspora to invest in Africa. That said, If a quorum of the Diaspora qualified for these loans and grants, perhaps, then, Africa will not need anything more from Obama! With a collective US$40 billion in annual remittances, emigrants and immigrants do more business with their homeland than all US businesses combined!
Actually, even if he may have wanted to do much more, Obama’s hands are tied. The House of Representatives which plays a huge role in the passing of important legislation and spending on government initiatives, is solidly in the hands of an intransigent Republican Party. While the body has been known to cooperate to ensure that Africa gets its due, Congress this time around is a little too dysfunctional even for those who thought they knew.
Also, Obama has 4 major battles he just has to get into this year: On gun control, and then on energy, education and immigration reform. Where, in 2013, will an African plan fit in? 2014 will not be a better year either as the country will practically be on what some Ugandans call bunkenke – pins and needles – because of Midterm elections. Here, a full third of the Senate and all House members run for office. Then, in 2015, when AGOA is set to expire and in dire need of enhancement to more than just preferential trade policy, Obama will be in his last year; perhaps much too weak politically from expending his political capital or endorsing a successor; or much too distracted or even unpopular to get anything done.
