by Karl B. Rodney
US Vice President Kamala Harris is on a three-country tour of Africa. It is refreshing to note that Africa is no longer being referred to as the dark continent, but now Harris’s more positive description and more positive vision for the future of Africa. She has made the reference to Africa as the future of the world.
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Upon her arrival in Africa, Harris said, “I’m very excited about the future of Africa. I’m very excited about the impact of the future of Africa on the rest of the world, including the United States of America. When I look at what is happening on this continent and the fact that the median age is 19 years old — and what that tells us about the growth, of opportunity, of innovation, of possibilities — I see in all of that great opportunity not only for the people of this continent, but the people of the world, especially when we understand that by the year 2050, we believe one in four people on Earth will be on the continent of Africa.”
This approach to the continent is welcome and Vice President Harris can be an effective connector on this mission given her heritage and her background. Vice President Harris trip to Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia is a deepening realization by Washington of the need to pay attention to Africa and the opportunities that exist there that were essentially ignored by the previous administration of Donald Trump, and for some time now has been a playground for China, who has been very aggressive on the continent in providing financing and infrastructure development.
The tour is clearly a part of the Biden Administration’s pushback against the growing Chinese and Russian involvement in the continent and its rich resources, and clearly, the US wants to be more engaged and bring a more positive message; Vice President Harris seems to be an appropriate person to bring this all together.
There is no secret that China has been aggressive in doing some long-term policies on the continent while Donald Trump was calling these countries S…hole countries. And now it is time for the US to build a better relationship with Africa and to broaden its outreach in Africa.
She has clearly said, the US relationship with Africa cannot be defined by competition with China, but with an affirmative agenda in Africa. Vice President Harris has been very careful to emphasize that the US outreach was independent of any geopolitical rivalries. We quote the Vice President, “Yes, we are concerned with security; We are concerned with what is happening on the globe as a whole; We are clear-eyed about that,” she said. “But this trip is motivated by the importance of the direct relationship between the United States and Africa Ghana, and as I travel the continent, with those countries as well.”
As Vice-President Harris went on to say, “I am more optimistic than I have ever been about the future and the future of the continent of Africa and, by extension, the world, not only because of the work we undertake in government, not only because of the investments in the private sector,” Harris said. “I am optimistic about the future of the world; I feel strongly about the importance of supporting freedom and supporting and fighting for equality among all people, and that all people be treated equally.
The topics President Harris is scheduled to discuss will include debt relief, democracy, economic growth, food security and the impact of the Russian War in Ukraine on the continent.
She has decided to also focus on the youth on her trip – the youth in the rapidly growing continent where the average age is 19, and where it is estimated that one in four people in the world could be living by 2050.
Harris’ Trip is welcomed by those who have for decades promoted the need for strong ties with Africa in a positive and constructive way, and would wish that the outreach by Vice President Harris, her own heritage, would provide a genuine opportunity for the US to make commitments to Africa, and not just Africa, but African diaspora in the Caribbean and in the United States in a combined and constructive effort to move this, what is called the `Golden Triangle’ of African people as a strong force that really represents the future of the world, The future of the people of the world, and the future of the resources of the world.
There are people doing this work day in, day out, and some are making success, making inroads, and it is important for the Harris mission and the Administration to directly embrace what is being done, support it in a constructive way because they have an opportunity that China or Russia does not have, and that is a vast population of the African diaspora that can be mobilized and incentivized to be not only true ambassadors but partners, real partners, as we look to Africa and the Golden Triangle as the future of the world.
This is a start, and it should be not just a reaction to China or the Russians or an attempt to get Africa’s support on certain issues, but of a genuine partnership that can realize ongoing benefits for all.
