New Liberian Political Party to Have DMV Launch

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African politics in USA, Alternative National COngress of Liberia, Liberia Politics

Courtesy of FrontPage Africa, I’ve learned that a new political party, the Alternative National Congress of Liberia will be launching this Saturday in Monrovia with a simultaneous launch in Bowie, MD.

You can read about the new party here.

A Brief Analysis of Zimabwe’s 2008 & 2013 Parliamentary Election Results in a Rural ZANU-PF Stronghold

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Jimmy Jombo-Charowa, Kotwa, MDC, Mudzi, Newten Kachepa, Peter Godwin, Tete Corridor, ZANU-PF, Zimbabwe election

Although it has been several years since I’ve been to Zimbabwe, it is one of the African countries that I know best.  I visited the country on an annual basis for several years at the height of the country’s economic crisis and into the early years of the government of national unity.  My personal interest in African affairs really coalesced in 2008, when I visited Zimbabwe during Spring Break, just a few weeks before the historic elections that saw the opposition defeat incumbent

Africa in DC Upcoming Zimbabwe Coverage

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Robert Mugabe, US government ZImbabwe policy, ZANU-PF, Zimbabwe election

I expect to have several posts up shortly speaking on developments in Zimbabwe.  One will be a conversation with a Zimbabwean gender rights activist currently based in DC and I plan to depart from my typical Africa in DC lens to examine the election results in a rural constituency that I have visited several times and which has traditionally been a bastion of support for Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF.

In the meanwhile, please read my analysis of a piece on Zimbabwean political developments in the early 1980s, I think it offers some important context for events today.

I’ll leave you with one personal observation.  I was very distressed by recent comments I heard from Shannon Smith, a high ranking official in the Bureau of African Affairs on American willingness to engage with Mugabe and ZANU – PF.  Consequently, I have been pleasantly surprised by the relatively strong comments from the State Department on the election (‘the culmination of a deeply flawed process’), which goes far beyond the appeasing comments uttered by Smith, who sounded like she was trying to win a stake in a Zimbabwean diamond mine.

Until the State Department statement, it seemed as if Mugabe was on the cusp of pulling a Myanmar-esque renaissance, perhaps if he hadn’t been so greedy as to decimate the MDC presence in parliament, the election may have been more ‘credible’.  It begs the question however – where was the USG in the midst of this deeply flawed process?

Washington Post Argues for US Sanctions on Rwanda for Congo Peace

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Congo, Friends of the Congo, Washington Post Congo editorial, Washington Post Rwanda sanctions

It’s a few days old by now, but a Washington Post editorial arguing for (the threat of) sanctions on Rwanda as a result of their intervention in the Congo has been gaining quite a bit of attention in Africanist circles.

Perhaps the efforts of local Congolese pressure group Friends of the Congo are starting to bear fruit.

You can read the piece here.

A South African History Lesson for the Office of Rep. Bass

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Africa fact check, Africa Rising, African growth, criticism of US Africa policy, Karen Bass, Obama Africa trip, South Africa independence, Tanzania

I recently gave Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) kudos for her Africa Policy Breakfast series. I do however, have to comment on a recent email that I received from her office, ‘Africa Update: African Growth, POTUS Travels.’

There are brief country profiles on South Africa and Tanzania (two of Obama’s three destinations on his Africa trip), obviously intended for businesspeople with little knowledge of Africa.

South Africa is described as being “ruled by a white minority from independence in 1948 to the end of apartheid in 1994.”  While the National Party, which formally implemented the Apartheid system came to power in 1948, I am not aware of any means by which South African ‘independence’ can be traced to that year.

The profile on Tanzania reads as if it was lifted from a tourist magazine: “Known for its spectacular landscapes, coastal plains and highlands, Tanzania has the largest land area among its East African neighbors. Situated between Kenya and Mozambique, Tanzania is bordered by the Indian Ocean and boasts pristine sandy beaches and Africa’s highest and snow-capped mountain, Kilimanjaro.”

It may just be small errors and romantic talk like this that leaves the US with a small share of the ‘Africa rising’ pie.

ADNA/Emira Woods Vs. CGD/Todd Moss (Virtual Square Off)

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ActionAid USA, ADNA, Africa land grab, big business in Africa, Blaise Compaoré, Center for Global Development, Emira Woods, Meles Zenawi, militarization of Africa, Obama Africa trip, Obama deliverables, Todd Moss, US Africa Policy, Yoweri Museveni

I don’t want to talk about Obama’s impending Africa trip too much, as it seems to be more under the purview of a DC in Africa blog rather than Africa in DC.  That said, it is a relatively monumental development that is getting a lot of attention, so it cannot be ignored.  I’ll try to contribute to the conversation in my own (hopefully innovative) way.

Several progressive groups, including the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), ActionAid, and TransAfrica (collectively they constitute the Africa Advocacy Network, ADNA) will convene at the National Press club at lunchtime this Monday on the eve of Obama’s departure.  They will “release a policy briefing book and an open letter statement critical of the Obama Administration’s policy toward Africa and calling for a new approach to trade and investment, militarization, land grabs and more in the region.”

As Emira Woods of IPS notes in the press release, “President Obama’s trip is likely to focus on trade and investment, but actually U.S. policy toward Africa has been driven by militarization and land grabs (ed – I’d say that’s more true in some places than others).”

Meanwhile, Todd Moss, who I critiqued in one of my more popular posts, is asking “What’s on the Deliverables List?” for Obama’s trip.  Right off the bat, he buys into a Washington Consensus.  His opening sentence states,”for good or ill, high profile visits by the President of the United States always come with some major new announcements, AKA ‘deliverables’.”  He then lists some economic options on the table for Obama that “require no new money.”

Moss, didn’t hesitate to mince his words when criticizing ZANU – PF in his recent Congressional testimony.  I wish he would have had the same courage to challenge some of the basic tenants of US African policy.

I agree with the ADNA team.  The US supports many autocrats, such as Blaise Compaore and Yoweri Museveni (until his death Meles Zenawi was another great example) who may be friendly to international businesses, but have governance policies hostile to equitable development.

To conclude on an Africa travel note, our ongoing support for those leaders makes Obama’s reluctance to visit Kenya during his Presidency look ridiculous.