US-AFRICA SUMMIT, 2014
Listening to Obama make a fool of Africa
and its leaders was the most scintillating highlight of the US-African summit
being hosted in Washington DC. Obama opined, and I quote “We don’t look to
Africa simply for its natural resources. We recognize Africa for its greatest
resource which is its people and its talents and its potential”. While many
Africans clapped their hands in approval, some few clever ones knew that this
is an empty rhetorical that dominate global economic policies towards Africa. Available
historical accounts of US-Africa relation shows the contrary as this article
shall elucidate.
To contextualize the US-African summit
2014, one needs to understand that this conference is a direct counter to the
increasing economic influence of China in Africa. The US and its allies are
genuinely frightened of the rate at which China is making concrete investment
and control over Africa’s crude oil and mineral resources.
By 2009, China was already Africa’s main
trading partner, surpassing USA. In 2012, China’s trade volume with Africa hit
US$ 198.5 billion mark while US’ was only $99.8 billion. That is twice as much
trading already and yet China’s trade with Africa is only 5% of its total globe
trade. It is estimated that more than 80% of China’s $98.3 billion of import
from Africa in 2011 were in minerals, raw resources and crude oil.
China’s trade with Africa has been soaring
in the last decade or so, while USA has been meddling in Africa for centuries.
Why then is Obama misinforming the world about US interests and presence in
Africa as if US is a new entrant in exploiting the continent?
For many centuries, the developed West
sustained very unfavourable trade relations with Africa best described as bullied
exploitation and economic repression. For the most, the current predicament of Africa
and its lagged economic progress is mainly attributable to these centuries of
exploitative bullying from the US, UK, France and most of their colonial
apparatuses that continue to meddle in Africa’s internal affairs.
Therefore, Obama’s claim that the US
looks beyond oil and mineral resources should be treated with the contempt it
deserves. The basis of any positive economic relationship with Africa has been
hinged on crude oil and raw materials. The US has footprints in each and every
country in Africa, stable or unstable. They are there primarily and precisely
for economic benefit, not to develop human resources or African infrastructure.
Otherwise, Africa would not have been as poor and deficient in all internal
aspects to compete favourably in the international markets.
Obama offers US$ 33 Billion in new trade
partnerships to ensure that US goods and services gain access to African
markets. This is another baloney. One only needs to read John Perkins’ 2004
book: “Confession of economic hitman”, Jeffrey Sach’s 2005 “End of Poverty: economic possibilities
for our times” and Health Poverty Action’s 2014 report, “Honest Account? The
true story of African billion dollars losses”, to unpack the worthlessness of
this Obama’s US-Africa trade package.
Mr. Perkins is unequivocal in his
narration of how the US has always used underhand methods such as assassinations,
cultivating civil unrest leading to regime change, paying bribe to influential
leaders and where possible, supplying arms and protection of crooked leaders to
manipulate co-operations of all kinds from any country in the world.
Perkins
provides numerous examples around the world where the US is still involved or
where it left tragic footprints in pursuit of its interests. According to
Sachs, the true value of American foreign aid that reached the person in Africa
in 2002 was only 6 cents after all deductions.
Both Perkins and Sachs show that
most of the money that the US offers to Africa, either as aid for cooperation
or grants go directly to US agencies, paying off “expatriates”, deduction for
debts owed and financing infrastructure that serves American interests in those
countries.
The Health Poverty Action report shows
that for every US$ 30 billion in foreign Aid that Africa receives annually, it
losses US$192 billions. The money is lost through loan and debt repaying of $46.5
billion. Other losses include $35.3 Billion in tax evasion and other illicit
financial flows facilitated through tax havens; $17 billion in illegal logging;
$3 billion in remittances; $46.3 billion repatriation of profits made by
multinational companies; $1.3 billion in illegal fishing and Africa incurs a
loss of $36.6 billion as a result of climate change and $6 billion as a result
of brain drain.
We conclude that this summit could be
fruitful if Obama announced at least 85% of US debt relieve to Africa; expanded
US market access beyond existing mechanisms such as AGOA, Power Africa
Initiatives, a declaration to respect African autonomy over its resources and
removal of Agricultural subsidies and protective mechanism to inhibit Agro-based
imports to the US markets.
END
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