THE HARABI NETWORK – By Ronald Kato, 04 March 2020
When U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo began his Africa trip in mid-February, it was clear that countering China’s influence on the continent was at the top of his agenda.
Yet from Senegal to Angola, he restrained himself from the hard-hitting attacks on China that have come to define his tenure as the U.S.’ top diplomat.
As he concluded his trip in Ethiopia, though, Pompeo let off a diatribe, warning African countries “against authoritarian regimes that offer empty promises.”
In all honesty, he was expected to talk about Beijing on this trip and he did. The key difference is that he refrained from the more hawkish tone he had used just days earlier at the Munich Security Conference.
But Pompeo found a continent too pre-occupied with its own agenda to pay attention to his message. While Africa is happy to engage with the United States, it hates to be told who not to work with.
Washington’s approach that sees Africa as the battleground for great power rivalry lies at the heart of why the messaging from Washington, as consistent and loud as it has been, has struggled to get attention.
This zero-sum approach that asks countries to choose sides instead of balancing relations has rubbed many African leaders the wrong way. And rightly so. Africa hates to be the turf where cold wars are fought. The U.S. wants its adversaries to be Africa’s adversaries, its competitors to be our competitors. That is hugely problematic.
Whether on Huawei or Chinese lending, Washington’s message has found a continent struggling to bridge its infrastructure gap that has hindered its participation in the global economy.
The ports, highways, and pipelines in many developed countries are mostly absent in Africa. Countries see Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, a project to build ultra-modern infrastructure connecting China with Asia, Europe, and Africa as partly the answer to their development needs.
Pompeo’s message has found a continent racing to implement the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a program designed to promote intra-African trade and industry. While the AfCFTA has received backing from Beijing, Washington, in what some analysts contend borders on antagonism, has instead begun trade talks with Kenya, one of Africa’s most important economies.
A continent bracing for the inevitable coming of the coronavirus. With the United States itself struggling to test and care for cases, countries in Africa will almost certainly look to Beijing for help when the virus begins to ravage their health systems.
The U.S. Secretary of State’s assertions that the U.S. is the better partner is betrayed by the recent travel restrictions slapped on Eritrea, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Sudan. Although this particular policy may not be Pompeo’s fault, under Trump’s administration, it is quite common for Washington to say one thing and do just the opposite.
The absence of a concrete policy on which to build engagement with the continent has led to the U.S. to become more reactionary in its dealings with Africa.
It has also left Washington mostly a ranting capital without alternatives to offer Africa. Warning countries against Huawei or loans is not enough. It should be followed with better, even more affordable technology and lending from Washington.
The problem is with 5G, Washington cannot offer any alternatives as no American company has the technology. But it can help to build the capacity of African government to negotiate better credit terms, not just with Chinese banks but even other lenders.
It gets even more disturbing that Pompeo barely mentioned Prosper Africa, his administration’s signature economic program. Since its launch in December 2018, the program has struggled to gain momentum. That alone says as much about Washington’s willingness to step its engagement with Africa.
There’s enough space for more than one player in Africa. China and the United States just have to capitalize on their comparative advantages.
Ronald Kato is a senior journalist at Africanews and a China-Africa Press Centre Fellow. He is interested in China-Africa relations and how China is covered in the news media. You can follow Ronald on Twitter at @RonnieKulabako.
- Disclaimer: The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). The Council on Pacific Affairs will not be responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article. The Council on Pacific Affairs grants permission to cross-post articles on community internet sites as long the source and copyright are acknowledged together with a hyperlink to the original CPA article. For publication of Council on Pacific Affairs articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: media@councilpacificaffairs.org
- www.councilpacificaffairs.org contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of “fair use” in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner.
For media inquiries: media@councilpacificaffairs.org .
