US rep. Betty M. Photo WDN.
WardheerNews Editorial
The three day US-Africa Summit, Aug 4-6, 2014 started amid the Ebola outbreak which continues to dominate the headlines. The first day started with much bang to welcome African leaders from over forty African countries to a leadership summit that is intended to strengthen US African relations. Although some are skeptical of the summit’s reach and success due to mainly the ongoing issues that accompany Africa and its leadership namely corruption, human rights violation, disease and famine, the summit is the beginning of what the US promises will be a great first step to engage African countries in business and development.
Secretary of State Kerry welcomed everyone in the opening of the summit, with hopeful remarks that sounds encouraging and optimistic. Despite the many who are asking how this summit will change the culture of corruption, tribal violence, and human rights violations that is the usual African narrative, maybe this summit is what Africa needs, or maybe the summit is the answer to the US’s ghost chase of China which dominates Africa in development and investment, so far it has invested some $ 200 billion across Africa.
China has become Africa’s ‘great white hope’ while the US all but stopped to engage Africa in president Obama’s tenure. The Obama administration might have found the secret recipe albeit a bit late, namely that Africa is changing in the face of all the problems that exist on the ground. There is a growing middle class who are young and educated, Africa is home to most of the growing economies in the world, and it’s spewing out more and more educated young professionals that are entrepreneurial, tech savvy and ready to engage.
For those countries that are ready to change the negative narrative that seems to persist, this summit maybe exactly what is needed. But the challenge for them will be to be transparent, inclusive and engaging of youth, civil society and women groups.
For those without the infrastructure, willingness or vision to come along with this great hope, those who want to oppress and violate their citizens and continue the same old story of hopelessness, this summit will not change much. All in all everyone is optimistic, but judging from the two thousand or so Ethiopian protests who were shouting “don’t do business with African tyrants” it seems Africa cannot out run its negative narrative.
On the other hand Somalia seems to be the outlier in the summit. The challenges for Somalia are compounded and where some countries in Africa are being engaged for business investments and economic growth, in Somalia the continues misappropriation of funds that hunts President Hassan Sheikh’s administration and lack of security seems to hinder any serious future investments. There is a massive need to develop institutions and the engine that runs the country. Without some serious plan to change the ongoing problems that keeps hampering the government, anything resembling growing the economy is a giant distant goal. If the Somali delegation does not cease the moment at the US-Africa Summit and implement policies that effect change for the masses, the youth of tomorrow, the very same people the President says he wants to engage will be left behind their peers in the continent.
WardheerNews
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