The United States will invest $55 billion in Africa to improve the continent’s economy, healthcare, and security, the White House announced on Monday.
When President Joe Biden met with African leaders on Tuesday, he was anticipated to provide further details on the benefits package.
Jake Sullivan, the National Security Advisor, told the press on Monday that the United States would contribute $55 billion to Africa over the next three years to help with “the significant challenges of our day.”
However, despite the widespread perception that the United Government is trying to force its will on African governments, Sullivan claims that the cash will be used to promote the African Union’s Agenda 2063 plan for economic growth.
They wouldn’t release something like that in the USA. As individuals and as a country, we have room for improvement. Sullivan referred to the booklet as “an African Union paper.”
It was important for the White House to offset China’s and Russia’s political investments in Africa without creating the appearance that they were buying influence.
There won’t be any contrasting or comparing done. Right now, our focus is entirely on what we can provide regarding benefits. The United States’ connection with Africa will be “great,” Sullivan added.
The United States has prioritized the accession of the African Union to the G20. The United States has consistently stated that it will not give up seeking to elect an African nation to a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (G20). South Africa is the only major African nation to have representation in the Group of Twenty.
Agenda 2063 was adopted by the African Union (A.U.) in 2013, and its five “Strategic plans” will be carried out over the following decade.
By creating circumstances for “inclusive social and economic progress, continental and regional integration, democratic governance, peace, and security,” this initiative aspires to make Africa the “next global powerhouse.”
In 2019, a plan with a lifespan of ten years will be put into motion. Throughout the year, the African Union offers workshops for African journalists to train them to report problems related to Agenda 2063 joyfully and closely monitor the transmission of news regarding the plan’s efficiency.
According to studies issued by the A.U. in February, the first 10-year plan achieved only 51% of its development goals. The statistics show that the worldwide coronavirus epidemic, rising gas costs, and disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine all had a role in this tragic conclusion.
We’ve also thought about how people and businesses might improve their information and knowledge management abilities. Dr. Ibrahim Asane Mayaki, CEO of the African Union’s development agency NEPAD, has stated that the lack of data is a significant factor for the disappointing performance of Agenda 2063 in numerous vital regions.
On Tuesday, U.S. Secretaries of State Antony Blinken and Defense Lloyd Austin met with the heads of state in Djibouti, Niger, and Somalia, and they lauded the continent’s young executive class for its vision and leadership. Blinken often used the phrase “close collaboration” to describe the relationship between the United States and African Union member states.
We look forward to continuing our collaboration and building upon the groundwork you’ve already set.
Austin said, “We are all here today because we recognize that African leadership is crucial” in addressing our day’s genuine peace, security, and governance issues.
Despite the White House’s promotion of an “Africa week” to coincide with the eighth anniversary of former President Barack Obama’s U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit, Front Page Africa (FPA) columnist Rodney Sieh noted on Tuesday that no private meetings had been arranged between President Biden and the visiting African heads of state.
Liberian President George Weah, whose government has tried to make inroads with the Biden administration, may be upset by “the lack of a one-on-one with leaders from the continent,” as highlighted by Sieh.
U.S. sanctions on three high-ranking Liberian officials were announced in August for their part in a corruption scandal. Sanctions on Liberia are set to increase after the country was highlighted as a target during the United Nations’ World Anti-Corruption Day last week. The penalties will be delayed until after Liberia’s next presidential election in the fall of 2017 in the hopes that free and fair elections will encourage the country to adopt more open government practices.
Sieh worries that Western idealists may require help competing with funding offers from China and Russia that impose no restrictions on human rights. In light of the widespread allegations of corruption and human rights violations that have been leveled against Africa’s Agenda 2063, an ambitious reform and development plan, this is especially true.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticized the Biden administration for “watering down” human rights standards to build relationships with African regimes accused of oppression and atrocities. This criticism was made in a statement last month. Examples of such tyrants include Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, South Sudan’s Salva Kiir, and Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed, who won the Nobel Peace Prize but is in charge amid a brutal civil war.
As Human Rights Watch (HRW) puts it, the United States is “sending a clear message that it places security concerns over human rights” by inviting these countries to the White House. According to Human Rights Watch, the Biden administration is giving millions of dollars in security aid to Uganda’s authoritarian government despite the latter’s history of human rights violations and destabilizing actions. In Rwanda and Mali, safeguarding citizens’ right to political expression received scant support.
Improving the conditions under which human rights activists operate in Africa will have far-reaching effects on the continent and its leaders. Beijing’s lavish expenditure on Belt and Road infrastructure without educating its partners on human rights could teach them something, but it also can irritate them. The West faces a tough challenge to prevent Africa from falling under the complete domination of China and Russia. A Member of the African Union, Zimbabwe, has recently accused the United States of intending to invade and conquer the country to punish its leaders for human rights abuses and corruption. President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe’s family was among them.
Foreign aid is essential for achieving ambitious goals like Agenda 2063, but it isn’t easy to believe that it will be handled responsibly, given the current condition of African politics. Without dependable, low-cost power, environmentalists in the West would reject Africa’s planned energy and economic revolution. In contrast, China is keen to lend a hand.