African Leaders Request Obama’s “Partnership, Not Patronage”

African leaders issued a clear and bold statement to the Obama administration last week: Africa is to be treated as partners in solutions, not welfare recipients. The call came from four of Africa’s most distinguished leaders: President Kagame of Senegal, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, President Seretse Khama Ian Khama of Botswana, and President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal –all at the forefront of leading their countries towards equitable growth and political stability.

The article, which appeared in Forbes magazine on August 3rd, laid the framework for revisiting US-Africa trade and economic relations. It called for an increase in loan guarantees to American firms wishing to invest in Africa-- currently valued at $400 million compared to China’s $13 billion for Chinese investors. It called for a reevaluation of U.S. agricultural subsidies which distorts market forces by decreasing global commodity prices, the foundation of economic and trade development for most emerging markets. Lastly, it called for longer term solutions to PEPFAR, the U.S. government’s HIV/AIDS program in Africa, which currently funds emergency support relief but does little for more sustainable and enduring life-saving treatment support.

Now is the time to implement solutions to Africa’s economic challenges, and to do so on equal footing. The downturn of global market activity resulting from recessions in the U.S. and Europe has greatly diminished private capital inflows on the continent, as well as precipitated a sharp decline in Africa’s share of global exports. The gains made by many African countries in recent years through policy and regulatory improvements and infrastructure and alternative energy development are now in jeopardy, and the Obama administration has a unique opportunity to turn the rhetoric surrounding US-Africa relations into an action plan that will help dictate the course of Africa’ s development through the next decade. As Hillary Clinton descends on the continent this week, all eyes will be on the new administrations’ policies, and how it will partner with African leaders to support African solutions to Africa’s problems.