President Donald Trump / HANDOUT
Africa must decipher the stark
MAGA rhetoric Trump has used in the new US National Security Strategy, released on
December 4 without his normative fanfare.
He defines strategy as “a concrete, realistic plan that explains the essential
connection between ends and means: it begins from an accurate assessment of
what is desired and what tools are available, or can realistically be created, to achieve the
desired outcomes”.
This definition sounds okay, until you realise it’s based on
transactional and mercantilist premises that will project US
power, to secure American economic interests and, in the process, benefit corrupt authoritarian
regimes in Africa.
The NSS represents a radical
departure from Trump 1.0 and Biden’s NSSs, released in November 2017 and October 2022 respectively;
in three critical realms: political, economic and security.
On the political realm, the NSS
does not address chronic and systemic corruption prevalent in Africa, which is a root cause of
human suffering.
In the 2017 NSS, Trump stated that
the US is “prepared to sanction
government officials and institutions that prey on their
citizens and commit atrocities. When there is no alternative, we will suspend aid rather than see it
exploited by corrupt elites.”
President Biden doubled down on it
in his 2022 NSS. He said: “We will also press partners about human rights, corruption, or
authoritarian behavior, and deepen partnerships with countries that make progress toward more open
and democratic governance”.
In the economic sphere, Trump
begins with the statement “The United States should transition from an aid-focused relationship
with Africa to a trade-and investment-focused relationship, favoring partnerships with
capable, reliable states committed to opening their markets to U.S. goods and services”. He asserts
that an immediate area for U.S. investments, with prospects for a good return on investments is
the energy sector and critical mineral development.
This exploitive stance deviates sharply from his 2017 NSS.
Back then he pledged to expand trade and commercial ties to create jobs and build wealth for
Africans and Americans. He promised to “Support economic integration
among African states”.
Biden in his 2022 NSS stated that the United States “will continue to invest in the region’s largest states, such as Nigeria,
Kenya, and South Africa, while also deepening our ties to medium and small states”.
He promised to “help Africa
unlock its digital economy, double down on tackling food insecurity, and expand clean
energy infrastructure”. This was to be achieved through three initiatives: Prosper Africa,
Feed the Future, and Power Africa.
Prosper Africa is now severely
weakened or dormant. Feed the Future is unlikely to continue at the
same scale under Trump’s current funding posture, and Power Africa has been
officially ended
by his administration.
In
addition, the lapse of Agoa on September 30 marks the end of a 25-year trade framework
giving African exports duty-free access to the U.S. market. Trump has also
imposed ridiculous
tariffs ranging between 50 per cent and 30 per cent to African countries like Lesotho,
Madagascar, Mauritius, Botswana, Angola, Libya, Algeria, South Africa.
Finally,
in the security sector, the NSS states that “we must remain wary of resurgent Islamist terrorist activity in parts of
Africa while avoiding any long-term American presence or commitments”. If Trump doesn’t
want long-term security commitments, then he should stop his publicity stunts of peace
mediations Africa.
In 2017, one African priority
was to continue working with partners “to improve the ability of their security services to
counter terrorism, human trafficking, and the illegal trade in arms and natural resources.”
Biden’s NSS was more elaborate. He would support “African-led efforts to work
toward political solutions to costly
conflicts, increasing terrorist activity, and humanitarian crises, such as those in Cameroon, Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Somalia, and the Sahel.”
It’s clear now. Trump doesn’t
have African interests at heart. In consequence, patriotic Africans should not
allow Trump and his bumbling sidekicks to loot African wealth. Africa must
represent its
interests as a continent and with confidence.
First
Kenyan Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, Specialist in Korean Peninsula
Studies and geopolitical analyst,
[email protected]
