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...

            The Corporate Council on Africa recently hosted a briefing in Washington by United Nations High Representative for Infrastructure Raila Odinga, who made the case that there was a realization on the continent that development plans, especially enhanced intra-Africa trade, could not be implemented without significant upgrades in various forms of infrastructure.   Mr. Odinga said that intra-Africa trade (he estimated it to be about 15%) lagged significantly behind that of other global regions, including those with numerous developing countries. There are various reasons why the disconnect of African infrastructure took place.   The one most often cited is that the European colonial powers carved out protectorates separate from their rivals.   This meant roads, air travel, etc., were geared to benefit the colonial power in control. This has resulted in neighboring countries not having roads or air links without g...

              Many people not familiar with international affairs see situations as strictly black and white, villain and victim.   While there is much truth to such scenarios, as in Russia’s brutal attack on Ukraine.   The impact of such a conflict usually involves more than just the combatants, and there are victims other than the country being attacked.   Such is the case with the Ukraine war.   Our world is so intertwined, that it is nearly impossible to take any significant action without there being collateral damage to those not involved in the original conflict or other actions that led to sanctions. On February 24, the same day Russia invaded Ukraine, as had been speculated for weeks, the United Nations General Assembly held an emergency session that produced a resolution calling Russia’s invasion as an unlawful act of aggression “in violation of Article 2 (4) of the (United Nations) Charter,” dem...