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Tag Archives: USAID

MDC Staffer and NED Fellow Charles Mangongera on the Role of the Military in Zimbabwe’s ‘Economic, Social, and Political Decline’

16 Thursday Jan 2014

Posted by africaindc in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Charles Mangongera, DRC War, Freedom House, IRI, JOC, Josiah Tongogara, Mengistu Haile Mariam, NED, Operation Murambatsvina, Robert Mugabe, USAID, Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe diamonds, Zimbabwe military, Zimbabwe securocrats

2014-01-15 16.10.06

Mangongera at left of NED Moderator and Commenter

Yesterday, I attended a talk by Charles Mangongera, a Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy.  Mangongera is the Director of Policy and Research for the Movement for Democratic Change (Tsvangirai branch), the main opposition party in Zimbabwe.  Before assuming this position, Mangongera worked with Freedom House and was authoring reports for DC-based organizations like USAID and IRI.  Mangongera masterfully covered  wide-ranging remarks on ‘Zimbabwe’s Military and the Prospects for Democratic Reform.’

Continue reading →

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‘You Can Only Squeeze so Much Out of an Orange’ – but – ‘Power Africa Provides a lot of Sunshine’: Africa Breakfast on the Hill

25 Friday Oct 2013

Posted by africaindc in DC Corridors of Power, Events, Uncategorized

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Tags

Africa Congress, Ed Royce, Kamran Khan, Karen Bass, Library of Congress, MCC, Nigeria, Olufunke Osibodu, Oren Whyche-Shaw, Paul Hinks, Power Africa, Symbion Power, Tanzania, USAID

 

The back of the heads of many an African ambassador are in the front row

The back of the heads of many an African Ambassador are seen in the front row

Yesterday Morning, I attended what I believe was the fourth installment of Representative Karen Bass’ Africa Policy Breakfast Series at the Library of Congress.  This session focused on ‘Power: Eliminating a Barrier to Trade, Development and Growth in Africa.’  It featured representatives from Symbion Power, a key player in Obama’s new Power Africa Initiative, the Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC), and a Nigerian power official.  Congressman Edward Royce gave opening remarks and Ms. Oren Whyche-Shaw, Principal Adviser to USAID’s Assistant Administrator for Africa, moderated. Continue reading →

Educating Americans About What They Can Do For Africa Through Metro Adverts

18 Friday Oct 2013

Posted by africaindc in Analysis, Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

African Studies Association, Aid for Africa, DC metro, Dupont Circle, International Relief and Development, SAIS, USAID, WMATA

2013-10-18 09.20.42

I find it very interesting when organizations engaging in the development field spend money to advertise on the metro.  International Relief & Development had a big campaign about a year ago.  I’ve even seen a USAID ad at the Dupont Circle Metro.  Are they trying to target SAIS students?  Do they think the interest is not already there?

I spotted this poster as I exited the metro on my morning commute.  I’m not familiar with Aid for Africa, but they apparently have a diverse array of members, from the African Studies Association, to country specific organizations (Ghana, Guinea, Rwanda, Mali, Uganda), and faith-based institutions.

My thoughts are that it is ‘time to do something’ beyond advertising on the metro.  Am I being unfair?

SAIS Tackles Kenya at 50 – PT 1: Historians’ Perspectives (and a startling claim on Kenyan-Somali Relations)

26 Thursday Sep 2013

Posted by africaindc in Events, Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Derek Peterson, Emma Hunter, Johnnie Carson, Kenya, Kenyan Somali relations, Kikuyu, Mau Mau, Mozella Brown, SAIS Kenya Conference, Syracuse University, Timothy Parsons, USAID

The 'Historian' Panel

The ‘Historian’ Panel

As I’ll be presenting on a topic relating to Kenyan history at the 2013 meeting of the African Studies Association in November, I thought it prudent to pop in on the ‘Kenya at 50‘ conference taking place at SAIS today and tomorrow.

I just caught the majority of the first panel – ‘Historian’s Perspective’ (my MA is in history) and hope to make it back to at least one more conference event (hence the part I in the title of this post). Continue reading →

A Chat with a Recent GMU Graduate & Miss Burkina Faso USA

10 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by africaindc in entertainment, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Blaise Compaoré, Burkina Faso, Carol Zigani, George Mason University, jollof rice, Leopold Senghor, Miss Africa USA, Ouagadougou, Peace Corps, Thomas Sankara, USAID

carol top

I recently raved about the great night of entertainment that was Miss Africa USA in Silver Spring.  While most of the contestants represented a wide range of African nations and a large swathe of American geography, a few, such as Carol Zigani, were local.  Carol, who is based in Manassas, represented Burkina Faso and answered some of my questions on African politics, culture, and Africa in DC issues via e-mail. Continue reading →

Obama’s Africa Legacy #2: Nationalism and Electricity

02 Tuesday Jul 2013

Posted by africaindc in Analysis, DC Corridors of Power, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

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?

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