President Obama Africa tour benefits footprint

SENEGAL, WEDNESDAY, June 26-28

In Senegal, Obama toured a food security expo to highlight the “Feed the Future” anti-hunger programme that began in 2010 and has $3.5 billion in investments from the US. It is meant to tap into farming technologies that to date has helped more than three million people in Africa increase their food production.

Even though not his signature programme and despite the administration suffering an Aid budget cut in millions of dollars, Obama announced his administration would continue allocating necessary funds to Bush era President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) programme that has resulted in 5.1 million people in Africa gaining access to life-saving drugs to combat HIV and Aids.

There has also been a 16 per cent drop in childhood mortality since 2008 among 24 high-priority countries receiving US assistance, including Tanzania.

SOUTH AFRICA, Saturday, June 29 - 30

Obama announced “Trade Africa” initiative and revealed the US is set to renew and refocus the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) that defines Africa-US commercial relations.

“Trade Africa” aims at increasing trade within East African Community and raise local exports to US by 40 per cent through trade facilitation and enactment of trade protocols.

The redesigning of AGOA at a forum in Ethiopia next year targets at drawing in more of the private sector players from the US and remove barriers to exports of agricultural products from Africa.

US committed to hosting US-Africa Summit of Leaders in Washington next year. China, Japan and India have already held such summits. Obama acknowledged it was now time for the US to up its game and pressed African leaders to make government reforms and stem corruption.

Prior to arriving here, Obama signed an executive order launching a $10 million (Sh16 billion) bid to cut wildlife trafficking in Africa worth $10 billion a year, and which threatens to decimate rhinoceros and elephant populations.

TANZANIA, Monday July 1-2

An address at the Pretoria University mirrored in on the President’s “Young African Leaders Initiative.” He pledged to expand the plan whose main goal is to take 500 young African leaders to the US each year for leadership training as part of an institutional capacity building plot.

The young fellows (10-15 per country) will be taught skills to run ministries, start businesses and serve communities. They will spend six weeks at American universities, and at Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the Export Import Bank of the United States.

Japan and China offer a similar programme focusing on the development of industrial leaders, engineers and technicians. Also in South Africa, the most significant initiative; “Power Africa” was unveiled. US would commit $7 billion to this initiative over the next five years.

The goal is to add more than 10,000 megawatts of clean efficient electricity generation, increase electricity for 20 million new households and commercial entities, and enhance energy resource management capabilities of partner countries, beginning with Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda. Mozambique and Liberia will join later.

The American private sector will separately commit $9 billion. Of the $7 billion, $5 billion will be channelled through Exim Bank and another $1.5 billion through OPIC.