Africa Rising 21st Century

              Climate change is a historic phenomenon that has affected life on earth for eons.   It has determined human migration and the extinction or transformation of animal species.   Unfortunately, in recent years, it has been mixed up in the minds of many with theories regarding global warming and to what extent human beings are contributing to changes in climate.   Climate scientists agree that climate change poses a danger to many vulnerable areas of the world, including in Africa, but there is disagreement on the causes and the long-term projections on how this phenomenon will be shown in weather patterns and average temperatures and on what the causes and solutions are.   Still, climate change is an undeniable fact. If you travel to Africa, you can see dramatic evidence of the impact of climate change.   The snow pack on mountains like Kilimanjaro are noticeably diminished.   Seychell...

              Before I begin this blog, I must admit that I am biased toward Prosper Africa.   I wrote the first response by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to the National Security Council’s initial outline for the initiative, and I was a member of its secretariat until I retired from government in 2021.   I do think it will succeed and overcome the obstacles it faces now and will face in the future.             I was prompted to write this blog piece after reading an article written for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace by senior fellow Zainab Usman and nonresident scholar Katie Auth entitled The Three Issues That Will Make or Break the Prosper Africa Initiative .   I mostly agree with their points and have a couple to add.             Referring to H.R. 6455, the P...

  Since the Organization of African Unity (OAU) became the African Union (AU) in 2002, it has reorganized the operations of the continental intergovernmental organization and embarked on new programming in various areas. However, every few years, some observers lodge complaints that the AU is not moving fast enough in creating a unitary African market or government or that its members are not operating in the interests of African or other people worldwide.   Perhaps this latest round of criticism is because the AU is now 20 years old this year without showing the progress many thought they would see by now, or maybe it’s because many of the African members of the United Nations refused to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine.   Whatever the reason this time, it’s a phenomenon that keeps reappearing. The OAU was accused of being a group of leaders of whom many wanted to be president-for-life.   While there is truth in the entitlement many liberation leaders fel...

              In all the calculations for how African nations will achieve maximum development, the tourism sector often gets ignored.   In a fascinating presentation on the business of tourism for the William O. Lockridge Foundation in Washington, D.C., recently, Africa tour operator and travel consultant David Saunders told students learning about opportunities in international affairs how vital a role tourism plays in the gross domestic product of African countries. Mr. Saunders explained that the travel and tourism industry employs one out of every twelve people and contributes ten percent of global Gross Domestic Product.   He said the sector not only generates cultural wealth but is also one of the most important economic engines for global growth and development. Unfortunately, too many African government tourism officials see themselves as offering attractions that no one else has.   While that is tru...