By Allan Odhiambo
African nations, perennially dogged by governance woes, are faced with tight options after US President Barrack Obama said in Ghana that America would only do business with democratic nations. President Obama’s speech in Ghana on Saturday, July 11, 2009, sounded more like a warning to the regimes in Kenya and Zimbabwe as he accused African governments of tribalism and corruption, saying historical factors like colonialism were no longer tenable for the continent’s lagging behind.
The tough talk dimmed the expectations of many that he would grant the continent “a soft spot” by providing favourable market access and aid conditions to help offset the ripple effects of the ongoing economic downturn.
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What he said:
The US policy is in sharp contrast to that of fast rising economic powerhouse China, which has won the dalliance of many in Africa thanks to its fairly relaxed development aid conditions and willingness to invest in the continent’s extraction and infrastructure sectors.
China’s policy for Africa largely hinges on economic and development issues with little regard to governance, a position that has earned it ridicule from Western capitals that its single minded quest for Africa’s natural resources ignored even the most blatant governance concerns such as in Darfur.
Before China’s entry in Africa a few years ago, most governments had to endure rigorous scrutiny by western aid institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank.
In President Obama’s maiden visit to Sub-Saharan Africa as head of state, many hoped this would change and he would grant them more latitude in accessing the now scarce assistance.
Poor countries are currently looking up to stimulus packages from the G20 club of rich nations that in April where resolved to have in place a raft of investment measures, including a $250 billion allocation towards supporting trade finance and tripling the resources available to the IMF to $750 billion, as part of efforts to cushion the global economy from the effects of the current downturn.
The leaders also pledged to strengthen financial supervision and regulation to help restore confidence, growth and jobs world over.
This line could also be in jeorpardy as President Obama exhorted other Western nations to peg their aid packages to Africa on governance issues.
“Development depends upon good governance. That is the ingredient which has been missing in far too many places, for far too long,” he said when he addressed the Ghanaian Parliament on Saturday.
“The true sign of success is not whether we are a source of aid that helps people scrape by, but it is whether we are partners in building the capacity for transformational change.”//Business Daily
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