Bruce Whitehouse at SAIS on Mali’s Elections, the Future of Captain Sanogo, and More

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Amadou Sanogo, Amadou Toumani Touré, Azawad, Bamako, Bruce Whitehouse, democracy in Africa, Mali, Peter Lewis, SAIS, Todd Moss, Tuareg, US military engagement in Mali

Today, I was able to hear the Lehigh anthropologist Bruce Whitehouse speak for the second time since I started blogging.  Dr. Lewis of SAIS’ Africa Studies Program noted in his introduction that he was ‘delighted to welcome’ Dr. Whitehouse.  I second that comment, as I greatly appreciate the nuances, specific info, and multiple perspectives that Dr. Whitehouse brings forward in his speeches as well as on his blog (which is much more sophisticated than mine but rather infrequently updated these days).

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Obama’s Africa Legacy #2: Nationalism and Electricity

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Africa energy gap, Africa energy poverty, Africa is a Country, African Arguments, Liberia electricity, MCC, Obama Africa electricity, Power Africa Initiative, Todd Moss, USAID

Todd Moss of the Center for Global Development must be ecstatic with joy.  After opining that Obama should make electricity his “signature development achievement” in Africa, Obama has announced a Power Africa Initiative that does just that during his recent Africa trip.

Power Africa focuses on 5 Anglophone African countries and Ethiopia.  Amazingly, the group includes Liberia, where the US Ambassador went on record less than a year ago as stating that electricity was ‘not a priority’ for her Embassy. After emphasizing US values and human development, does this marked shift to infrastructure development reflect the stunning success of Moss’ op-ed or is it a concerted effort to enrich US companies and counter Chinese influence on the continent?

Several major Africanist media outlets, including African Arguments and Africa is a Country have cautionary pieces on Obama’s announcement (‘With President Obama’s new initiative, this [energy provision] can increase by roughly 18 more minutes if implementation was perfect’).  Devoted Africa in DC readers may recall my three point rebuttal to Moss back in February.  I stand by it for the most part.  While much needed, I’m doubtful that in the long run, US private sector engagement in the provision of electricity to Africa is helpful for the continent (after all, I remember my grandmother telling me that light bulb technology in this country was purposely degraded for decades so that companies would be able to move more product, true or not, I think that’s meaningful). However, it is good to see various US government agencies, from USAID to MCC collaborating on the initiative.

We don’t allow Muslims to run American ports – I wonder what Africans will think of private American companies making money from providing them with electricity?

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.

The Senate Gets Curious About Developments in Zimbabwe – Pt. 1

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Chris Coons, Dewa Mahvinga, Jeff Flake, Mark Schneider, MDC Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, SADC election monitors, Subcommittee on African Affairs, Todd Moss, ZANU-PF, Zimbabwe elections, Zimbabwe security sector reform

On Tuesday morning, after attending Rep. Karen Bass’ Africa Policy Breakfast Series, I headed over to the Dirksen Senate Building for my first Congressional hearing, Examining Prospects for Democratic Reform and Economic Recovery in Zimbabwe.  The title aside, the hearing was primarily an inquiry into Zimbabwe’s upcoming elections.  Two members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations’ Subcommittee on African Affairs presided over the hearing.  Chris Coons (D – DE, he apparently studied in Kenya as an undergrad), the Committee Chair took the lead with support from Jeff Flake (R – AZ).  Flake had spent time in Zimbabwe in 1982 – 83 as a Mormon missionary.  His Wikipedia page says that he speaks Afrikaans and opposed sanctions on South Africa in the 1980s.  He was also Executive Director of the Foundation for Democracy in Namibia (no idea what that is).

The session consisted of two panels, one with prominent US government officials (State and USAID) and another with key civil society Zimbabwe watchers (in that order).  I’ll discuss the latter panel here and will cover the first panel in a post on Thursday.

George Washington University Engages Africa – The David Miller Lecture

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African elections, Amina Salum Ali, Antoinette Sayeh, David Miller Lecture, Elliott School African affairs, Obama Africa Policy, Todd Moss, US - Africa relations

The annual David Miller lecture, which I have only attended once, will be held tonight at the Elliott School for International Affairs.  GW has arranged a bevy of panelists (4, perhaps one for each year?) to speak on the next 4 years of US-Africa relations.

Antoinette Sayeh (former Liberian finance minister, now with the IMF) and Amina Salum Ali (AU rep to the US) clearly stand out as the more interesting speakers.  Also crowding the podium are Todd Moss of the Center for Global Development and a GW professor.  Given the limited time available, it would certainly have been preferable to focus on the two African speakers.

Todd Moss certainly has his choice of plumb speaking events in DC and he rarely offers any public insights that wouldn’t be contained in the pages of the Economist (though I must admit my experience with him is not extensive).