“If the Obama administration wishes to truly make a difference, it must do so as an equal partner.”
In a bold and compelling op-ed last week, President Kagame of Rwanda, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, President Seretse Khama Ian Khama of Botswana, and President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal argued that the US needs to approach Africa as a partner, not a benefactor. I commend this piece and hope the Obama administration will take a close look at the approach it is taking to working with Africa.
As I mentioned in my recent Trade Talk column, “Obama in Ghana,” the tendency of Western leaders to come to Africa and deliver lectures on good governance they would never give in Asia, Europe or the Middle East is indicative of a troubling trajectory in the US-Africa relationship. US Trade Representative Ron Kirk’s message of “tough love” for Africa during last week’s AGOA Forum in Kenya was interpreted by many Africans as “tough luck.” It was not a message of partnership but more of a scolding from a patron to recipients of welfare.
The presidents who authored this op-ed know that the way to broad-based prosperity for all their citizens is through trade, investment, and private sector development, not through solely relying on aid. But the US must facilitate this development by evaluating and revising our own policies that constrain trade and investment. For example, the four presidents rightly point out that the US must get rid of its agricultural subsidies in order for AGOA to fulfill its great potential. Agricultural subsidies distort commodity markets worldwide, making it very difficult for farmers in the developing world to compete in the global marketplace or even to make a living.
We can also enhance prospects for investment by revising the US tax code, as some African advocates have called for, to provide tax incentives for those US companies that invest in job-creating industries that provide a development dividend. Broadening AGOA to include goods that are currently excluded, such as sugar, peanuts and textiles, would be beneficial as well.
These are presidents who are driving growth in their countries through trade and investment and seeing the rewards. In the West, Rwanda is now known as one of Africa’s greatest development success stories. Botswana is considered one of the most stable countries in Africa, and before the economic crisis it had a credit rating higher than Japan’s. President Johnson Sirleaf is tackling the gargantuan task of reconstructing her country admirably, having already cut Liberia’s debt by $1.2 billion since taking office. And President Wade is known in Senegal and across the continent as a strong voice and a leader on numerous global issues where leadership has often been lacking in the past.
These presidents are obvious partners for the Obama administration in working for development and crafting an Africa policy that is collaborative, not condescending.
