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Issues in US-Africa relations under Donald Trump
Jideofor Adibe 7
While the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States raised a lot of expectations and optimism in Africa, the election of Donald Trump as his successor raised concerns, given his controversial campaign rhetoric. Though it is early days in the Trump presidency to be able to assess how his presidency will impact on Africa, it will not be out of place to speculate on this based on his key campaign promises and emerging trends. In fact some have raised concerns that given Trump’s silence about Africa, months into his presidency, the continent may not really be one of the priorities of the Trump administration (Brigety, 2017). Though the relationship between Africa and the USA has not always been smooth, it has been evolving in the last ten years or so with increasing bipartisan support for engagement with the continent (Coons, 2017). Some of the key areas in this relationship which analysts are focusing on to find how the Trump presidency will impact on them include
The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the U.S. government’s initiative created to help save the lives of those living with and affected by HIV/AIDS around the world. This historic commitment is the largest by any nation to combat a single disease internationally, and is driven by a shared responsibility to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. PEPFAR is appointed by the United States President, confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and reports directly to the U.S. Secretary of State.Specifically, this paper will focus on the actions of former U.S. Presidents Bush and Obama, as well as, current President Trump’s actions regarding PEPFAR and its benefits to Africa. Data will be collected from several countries in Africa. We will also examine the actual policy, as well as, gather data from agencies committed to the success of PEPFAR. Quantitative data will be used as evidentiary support of this study.
“When we help African countries feed their people and care for the sick it’s the right thing to do, and it prevents the next pandemic from reaching our shores. Right now, we’re on track to end the scourge of HIV/AIDS. That’s within our grasp.” – President Barack Obama, State of the Union Address, January 12, 2016
During the past decade the issue of migration, integration and xenophobic tendencies have taken centre stage in the mainstream thinking and practice of governments and international organisations to develop holistic public policies for the integration of immigrant population. Integration policies relates to all public policies implemented to cater for the welfare of immigrants once they find themselves in another country. Their presence in host countries put enormous pressure on quality services delivery (health, education, housing etc.) intercultural issues, diversity and participation in the local life of their new environment. Countries are obliged to articulate and implement comprehensive policies to ameliorate the plight of immigrants, integrate them in their new setting, and create harmony between immigrants and citizens of host countries. Since the coming into office, President Donald Trump has evoked a policy xenophobic attitude towards foreigners. Could this be a blessing or a curse for Africa? What would his presidency mean for the continent? Such a cacophony delights those harbouring xenophobic tendencies towards other groups they consider not belonging to their own race or country.
Argument of the paper is that power-sharing, inclusion, participation and social equity provides best options for addressing problems under contestation. It examines critical issues needing serious considerations and policy strategies in ensuring a Holistic Integrated Service Delivery (HISD) without reducing the quality of livelihood of the people. What roles city councils, civil society organisations, local, regional and national authorities play in response to the challenges and opportunities brought by migration. It is maintained that collaboration at all levels with the various stakeholders would accelerate the process of a Holistic Integrated Public Governance (HIPG) and (HISD) as well as helping to reduce programme fragmentation, promote seamless services and help to resolve difficult social problems, some of which include (i) the exercise of power; (ii) the erosion of powerbase and destruction of the socio-cultural values of the host countries
In different socioeconomic context, discriminatory, racist and xenophobic reactions against migrants should be prevented through effective communication policies and social movements. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030, inter alia, SDG6 [Economic Growth and Decent Work] encompasses targets regarding the status of migrant workers; and SDG 16 – Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions] harps on human trafficking. AU Agenda 2063 – Aspiration 1 – Prosperous Africa Based on Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development: Aspiration 3 – An African Good Governance Democracy, Respect for Human Rights, Justice and the Rule of Law, among other international and national conventions create structural basis for a holistic policy framework contributing to ensuring the sustainable welfare of citizens and orientation of leaving no one behind strengthening confidence-building and a common sense of people belonging to a society.
Once the people develop and consolidate the feeling of belonging (i.e. participating and equity in benefit-sharing) the tendency for migrating is greatly reduced. For these reasons, the practice of good governance, adherence to the rule of law; participation, inclusion and benefit-sharing plays important roles in mainstreaming and enhancing the various positive aspects of migration, integration, development and poverty alleviation towards the quality livelihood of people. Policies have to be holistic with responsibilities and ethical challenges in tackling national and global migration and integration as well as building capacity to ensure smooth promotion of sustainable development and effective alleviation of poverty.
The conclusion is simple. The ball is in the court of African countries (Trump or no Trump) to provide their citizens with sustainable quality services delivery as prelude to better livelihood like citizens in the developed countries. African countries must put an end to exporting their raw materials and human resources. Any country that exports its raw resources and human capital is doom to exploitation, occupation and underdevelopment.
The emergence of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States of America has many implications for Africa. It is expected that there would be continuity in US-Africa relations in the areas of security and counter-terrorism. Trump has been a consistent opponent of marriage equality in line with African culture while illegal African migrants would now find it difficult to move into the US. The administration is tilted towards re-negotiating American foreign trade deals that favor bilateral trade agreements (BITs) over multi-party agreements while the disposition of Trump would affect Africa negatively on climate change. The paper concludes that Trump’s presidency is an admixture of good and bad omen for the Sub-Saharan Africa and recommended an urgent need for Africa to really look inward through purposeful leadership, embracing vibrant natural resource governance, curbing corruption and having the strong political-will to develop by depending less on foreign intervention.
The election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States of America has brought unpredictability both at home and abroad. Trump’s nationalist and anti-globalization policy posture has caused panic in the developing world as the future of Washington’s development assistance to developing countries looks uncertain. Sub-Saharan Africa is not spared from this global panic. This is because the United States government has committed to assist African countries tackle social problems through initiatives such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and civil society support, initiatives whose continuity cannot be guaranteed under President Trump. In light of the foregoing, this paper sets out to lay forth a transformative social policy agenda for sub-Saharan African countries to mitigate the impact of negative global trends. We build on the transformative social policy paradigm to make a case for an autonomous and sustainable African social policy regime.
The triumph of President Donald Trump in the November 2016, US presidential election has confounded scholars of US politics and the electoral process. In a classic term, Donald Trump was seen as a wild card and his candidacy shrouded in controversies. While on campaign and since inauguration, President Trump views and pronouncements on core issues notably; Globalization, the Trans-Atlantic Alliance, Energy, Global Security and Terrorism, among others, have raised concerns among allies and foes. Informed by the controversies surrounding President Trump and the new administration, this paper examines US-Africa’s relations using the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) as a point of reference. The study is situated within the context of the strategic importance of GoG in the calculations of the US, China and Nigeria especially as it relates to the region’s oil and gas riches, war on terror, fight against piracy, and oil bunkering among other issues. It examines what might be the fate of US-GoG relations under the Trump administration.
The main objective of the American African Command (AFRICOM) is to fight terrorism with the aim of advancing US strategic and security interests in Africa. The second is to beef-up African security and contribute to the continent’s development. This paper argues that the counter-terrorism measures adopted so far are unsuccessful because the solution to terrorism is not informed by military actions alone. In fact, historical experience of such strategies shows that the phenomenon of terrorism cannot be defeated. This article, therefore, contends that as long as the US relies on military power the goals of AFRICOM (i.e., the war against terror) is likely to be futile without a holistic approach.
Building on Kaba’s (2012a) study of the 2011 Root Magazine’s most influential 100 Black Americans aged 25 to 45, this current study examines the net worth of 46 of these 100 honorees utilizing the concept of inheritance. Almost all of the honorees have inherited the citizenship status as Americans from their parents and ancestors who have lived in the country since 1619, bringing with it important privileges such as rights to educational attainment, voting or running for political office from local school boards to the U.S. presidency and establishing businesses. Due to their inherited citizenship status as Americans, these honorees have come to accumulate massive wealth. For example, the study finds that these 46 honorees have a combined net worth of $3.29 billion, with men accounting for $2.354 billion, and women accounting for $937 million. Seven out of every 10 of them are in entertainment and media occupations. Eight honorees have a net worth of at least $120 million. A male honoree, Jay Z, has the largest net worth ($700 million), while a male honoree, Tyler Perry and a female honoree, Beyonce Knowles (wife of Jay-Z), are tied in second place ($450 million). All 14 women in this study have a net worth of at least $1 million. There are 10 male honorees with net worth of $40 million or more, with four of them having net worth of hundreds of millions of dollars, and one with a net worth of $145 million. Five of the female honorees are worth $70 million or more. Among the interrelated factors presented to explain the accumulation of such massive amounts of wealth by these honorees are: educational attainment, the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement, and entrepreneurship. Among the implications of this phenomenon presented in the study are, financial and other support to the Black community, and activism by these honorees on behalf of vulnerable Black Americans, and also vulnerable Americans from other racial and ethnic groups. The significance of this study is that this relatively new development contributes to the body of knowledge an important additional dimension to the gradual progress of people of Black African descent in the New World, Africa, and other parts of the world.
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