A lackluster Africa policy?

By Salih Booker
*Salih Booker is executive director of Africa Action

July 3, 2003

President Bush is misleading a nation and a continent. He
is misleading Americans by claiming his administration is
taking real steps to address Africa's most urgent
challenges. He is misleading Africans by declaring U.S.
partnership with their efforts to fight AIDS and poverty
and to promote peace.

In fact, the Bush administration is on a collision course
with Africa because its policies are simply antithetical to
Africa's interests. The White House's few new Africa policy
initiatives that seem compassionate are actually fictitious
because they are left underfunded.

The U.S. defines the most urgent international priorities
as weapons of mass destruction, nuclear proliferation and
terrorism. The G-7 club of wealthy countries concurs. Yet
the rest of the world, the global majority, is concerned
less with these potential threats than with the more
immediate threats to human security and global
stability--AIDS, poverty and civil conflicts. The divergent
priorities of the Bush administration and the people of
Africa should be apparent when President Bush travels to
Africa for his first official visit next week.

In West Africa, Bush will be confronted with the crisis in
Liberia, amid growing calls from within that country for
U.S. intervention to stop the latest violence. Bush has
called for the removal of Liberian President Charles
Taylor, but so far has been unwilling to take action to
ensure a peaceful transition in that country and stability
in the larger region. Despite America's unique historic
ties with Liberia, the "hands-off" approach of the U.S. is
undermining African peacemaking initiatives so important to
Africa's people. This also is true in Sudan and in the
Democratic Republic of Congo.

Bush also will visit Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation
and the fifth largest supplier of oil to the U.S.
Washington's interests in West African oil have not
translated into a commitment to Nigeria's democracy or to
its economic development. Nigeria's efforts at poverty
reduction are impossible under the burden of the $30
billion it owes in foreign debt. The refusal of the U.S. to
support the cancellation of these debts reveals the absence
of a real partnership between the U.S. and Africa's
superpower.

In South Africa, Bush will visit ground zero of the global
AIDS crisis, home to almost 5 million people living with
HIV/AIDS.

While Bush has made much of his commitment to fighting AIDS
in Africa, this is becoming a cruel hoax at the expense of
those on the frontlines fighting AIDS in Africa. The
president requested no new money to fight AIDS in Africa
this year, and only $450 million in new money for 2004. He
has virtually sidestepped the Global Fund to fight AIDS,
thus undermining the most important vehicle in the war on
AIDS in Africa. Despite his declarations--that he is
committing $15 billion to fight AIDS in Africa and the
Caribbean--Bush's failure to take action now is tantamount
to breaking his promise.

Far more significant to the Bush administration is the
so-called war on terrorism. The military footprint of the
U.S. has been growing, particularly in East Africa where
military bases and access to ports and airfields are of
increasing strategic importance. U.S. military concerns run
counter to the efforts of Kenyans, Ugandans and others to
combat poverty, HIV/AIDS and broader insecurity. The new
$100 million anti-terrorism initiative announced by Bush
last week will not even offset the money being lost by the
tourist industry in Kenya as a result of frequent terror
warnings from Washington.

As Bush travels to Africa, we must recognize the dichotomy
between U.S. global priorities and those of Africa's
people, and we must work to bridge the deadly gap. A
failure to demand more of U.S. policies toward Africa will
ensure a continuation of America's historic disdain for
Africa, with all of its terrible consequences.

Copyright 2003, Chicago Tribune

Salih Booker
Executive Director, Africa Action
1634 Eye Street, NW, Suite 810,
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: 202-546-7961 Fax: 202-546-1545
Website: http://www.africaaction.org/
Email: [email protected]

Africa Action
July 2, 2003

Talking Points on President Bush's trip to Africa and on the Bush
Administration's Africa Policy

President George W. Bush travels to Africa for his first official
visit next week. Between July 7 and 12, he will visit the nations
of Senegal, South Africa, Botswana, Uganda and Nigeria.

The following are talking points covering the key issues in U.S.
Africa policy.

Trade

Trade is high on the agenda of Bush's Africa trip. Though the
Bush Administration promotes trade as the engine of growth, the
reality is that the U.S. continues to pursue trade policies that
are antithetical to Africa's interests.

* The U.S. trade representatives continue to block implementation
of the 2001 Doha Declaration on trade, which called for looser
patent rules in order to give African countries greater access to
essential anti-AIDS drugs.

* U.S. agricultural subsidies undermine Africa's competitiveness,
and cost the continent tens of billions of dollars each year in
lost revenues.

* Total trade between the U.S. and sub-Saharan Africa fell
dramatically in 2002. Two-way trade was just under $24 billion,
down 15% from the previous year. U.S. exports shrank to $6
billion, and U.S. imports fell to $17.9 billion.

* Africa's share of total world trade stands at 1%, less than
half of what it was in 1980.

* The African Growth & Opportunity Act (2000) was intended to
offer incentives to African countries to open their markets, but
it has brought very little benefit to a few countries, and has
not promoted sustainable economic development.

Oil

The Bush Administration is increasingly interested in Africa's
oil resources as an alternative to importing oil from the Middle
East.

* In 2002, crude oil accounted for $11 billion, or 61% of U.S.
imports from Africa.

* In 2001, sub-Saharan Africa supplied 18% of U.S. oil imports.
This is almost as much as Saudi Arabia.

* The National Intelligence Council projects U.S. oil supplies
from West Africa will increase to 25% by 2015. This would surpass
U.S. oil imports from the entire Persian Gulf.

* Nigeria is the 5th largest supplier of oil to the U.S.,
accounting for more than one- tenth of total U.S. oil imports.

* Aside from Nigeria, the major oil producers in West Africa
include Angola, Congo, Gabon, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.

Aid

The U.S. is the richest country in human history, but it fails to
provide its fair share of foreign assistance to support African
efforts to promote human development and overcome great social
and economic challenges.

* The U.S. currently ranks at the bottom of all donor countries,
with only 0.1% of GNP (or about $10 billion) going to foreign aid
worldwide. Only 1/100th of 1% of the U.S. budget ($1 billion) is
spent on aid to sub-Saharan Africa.

* In March 2002, President Bush announced a new initiative called
the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). This would increase U.S.
development assistance by 50% over the next 3 years, so that by
2006 an annual increase of $5 billion would be achieved. The
President's budget request for the MCA for FY 2004 (beginning in
October 2003) is $1.3 billion.

* MCA funds will go to a list of countries (only a handful in
Africa) that meet specific criteria govern justly, invest in the
wellbeing of their people, and encourage economic freedom.

* The MCA will be administered by a new body called the
Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). This will be a government
corporation headed by a Chief Executive Officer, and staffed from
the public and private sector. A cabinet- level board will
oversee the MCC, and will be chaired by the Secretary of State.

* The MCA proposes a smaller increase in foreign aid than what
the U.S. can and should provide. The eligibility criteria defined
by the U.S. reinforces an imperialist-style relationship with
poor countries, and creates competition between poor countries
for a portion of the relatively meager MCA funds.

* The U.S. has consistently failed to commit the level of aid
that would be commensurate with its own interests and
obligations, or with African countries' needs.

Military Relations

The U.S.' "military footprint" in Africa is growing. The U.S. is
increasingly interested in establishing military bases and
securing access to ports and airfields in Africa for strategic
reasons.

* The U.S. military base in Djibouti, East Africa, has been the
main U.S. base for counter-terrorist activities off-shore and in
that region since September 2001. Camp Lemonier is home to 1,800
U.S. troops, strategically placed across the Red Sea from the
Persian Gulf.

* The U.S. is boosting its troop presence in West Africa, a
region that is strategically important because of U.S. oil
interests. The tiny island nation of Sao Tome offered to host a
U.S. naval base, and Washington is considering that invitation.

* President Bush announced a new $100 million initiative last
week, to support the counter-terrorism efforts of East African
countries.

* Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY) has written a letter to
the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, expressing concern
over the expansion of the U.S. military presence in Africa, and
asking for an explanation of U.S. plans.

Conflict Resolution & Peacekeeping

The refusal of the U.S. to participate in multilateral
peacekeeping efforts undermines African initiatives in this area.
It also reveals the lack of U.S. commitment to addressing
Africa's most urgent challenges.

* In Liberia, the political crisis is growing in the aftermath of
the breakdown of last month's cease-fire agreement. The United
Nations, European powers, and the people of Liberia are asking
the U.S. to intervene to stop the latest violence. Although Bush
has called for the removal of President Charles Taylor, the U.S.
remains unwilling to take action to ensure a peaceful transition
in Liberia, and promote stability in the West Africa region.

* In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the peace
process is moving forward, and stakeholders have approved a
transitional government that should be inaugurated soon. However,
violence and insecurity persist, particularly in eastern Congo,
and a strong international commitment, and a larger peacekeeping
force, will be required to ensure the peace process can be
brought to a successful conclusion.

* In both Liberia and DRC, the U.S. bears a large degree of
historical responsibility for the conflicts that have
destabilized these countries. During the Cold War, the U.S.
provided billions of dollars worth of aid (and arms) to dictators
of African countries that were considered geo-strategically
important. Liberia, DRC, and Somalia are among the countries that
had "special" Cold War relationships with the U.S. and that fell
into violence and political turmoil in the 1990s.

* Despite this historical responsibility, the U.S. adopts a
"hands off " approach to African conflicts, and it refuses to
participate in multilateral peacekeeping efforts, committing only
bare logistical support in some cases.

Africa's Debt Crisis

Sub-Saharan Africa's massive burden of external debt is the
largest obstacle to the continent's development, and to the fight
against AIDS.

* African countries owe almost $300 billion to rich creditor
governments and to international financial institutions such as
the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). O Each
year, African governments are required to pay almost $15 billion
in debt service to foreign creditors. These debts drain money
from health care, education and other essential services, and
from the response to the AIDS crisis.

* Most of Africa's debts are illegitimate and they should be
canceled. Many of these debts were incurred by dictators during
the Cold War, who did not use the money to benefit Africa's
people. Other loans were given for failed development projects,
which also did not benefit Africa's people.

* The current international debt relief framework, the Heavily
Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, has failed to provide
a solution to the debt crisis. It was launched by creditors in
1996, and "enhanced" in 1999, but it has failed to reduce
Africa's debt to a sustainable level. Even the World Bank and IMF
have admitted that the HIPC initiative is not working. An
independent audit of these two institutions has shown that they
can afford to cancel Africa's debts completely.

* The U.S. is the single largest shareholder at the World Bank
and IMF, to whom most of Africa's debt is owed, and it can use
its power to demand a new initiative to address Africa's debt
crisis.

* An inventory should be done of the debts currently being repaid
by African countries, to establish what loans are being repaid,
and whether the debts are legitimate. The U.S. should support
this proposal. Until a solution has been found to the debt
crisis, a moratorium should be declared on debt repayments. Kofi
Annan, Secretary General of the UN, is among those who have
endorsed this idea.

The AIDS Crisis

The AIDS pandemic is the greatest global threat to human security
that exists today. It is taking its most devastating toll in
Africa.

* Africa is "ground zero" of the global AIDS crisis, home to 30
million of the 42 million people living with HIV/AIDS globally.
More than 18 million Africans have died of AIDS in the past 20
years, out of 25 million people worldwide.

* The UN and the National Intelligence Council emphasize that the
global AIDS crisis is still in its infancy. They project that
over 100 million people will be living with HIV/AIDS by 2010.

* In his State of the Union address in January, President Bush
announced a new plan to increase funding to fight AIDS in Africa,
but this is turning out to be a cruel hoax.

* Bush promised an "emergency plan" to give $15 billion over 5
years to fight AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean. But NO new money
has been made available in 2003, and only $450 million is being
requested for 2004. The White House has backtracked and said that
the money will not just be for Africa and the Caribbean, as the
President said, but for the entire world.

* President Bush has requested only $200 million per year for the
Global Fund to fight AIDS, which is the most effective vehicle
for addressing Africa's AIDS crisis. The Global Fund is
transparent and accountable, it has fewer administrative costs
than bilateral (USAID) programs, and it involves key stakeholders
in decision-making. But because the U.S. refuses to pay its fair
share ($3.5 billion per year), the Global Fund will not have
sufficient money to fund a third round of grant proposals in
October 2003.

* President Bush has acknowledged that affordable antiretroviral
drugs are necessary to fight HIV/AIDS. In order for African
countries to have access to these drugs, they must have the
capacity to produce them for low cost themselves, or else to
import cheaper generic versions from Brazil, India and elsewhere.
But the U.S. trade representative is still blocking African
access to these drugs, and insisting that pharmaceutical company
patents take priority over people's lives.

* The absence of U.S. leadership remains the greatest obstacle to
a successful effort to defeat AIDS in Africa and globally.