Does Africa really matter to Donald Trump?
While he is yet to appoint an Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, his team has been asking some very pertinent questions about US interests in Africa, such as:
“How does US business compete with other nations in Africa? Are we losing out to the Chinese?”
“Most of AGOA imports are petroleum products, with the benefits going to national oil companies, why do we support that massive benefit to corrupt regimes?” the questionnaire asks.
“With so much corruption in Africa, how much of our funding is stolen? Why should we spend these funds on Africa when we are suffering here in the US?”
“We’ve been fighting al-Shabaab for a decade, why haven’t we won?”
“We’ve been hunting Kony for years, is it worth the effort? The LRA has never attacked US interests, why do we care? Is it worth the huge cash outlays? I hear that even the Ugandans are looking to stop searching for him, since they no longer view him as a threat, so why do we?”
“Is PEPFAR worth the massive investment when there are so many security concerns in Africa? Is PEPFAR becoming a massive, international entitlement programme?”
Depending on how the wind blows in Donald Trump’s administration, Africa stands the chance to win or lose considerably in the following areas: Remittances, Foreign Aid, Foreign Direct Investment, Counter-Terrorism, the Africa Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA), and President Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)
Read the full article at How We Made It In Africa
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