It was another eloquent and powerful speech. That was President Barack Obama’s speech, laying out his Africa policy, delivered to the Parliament of Ghana today morning. In the main, Obama outlined four key planks of the United States of America’s (U.S.A) policy on Africa during his administration. The four planks are:

• Good governance.
• Supporting development that provides opportunity for more people.
• Strengthening public health.
• Addressing conflict.

If these were the only big things in the speech, it would have been disappointing. Reading through the whole speech, however, a range of other big topics come up as well. In this post, I offer my response, focusing on some of key issues I consider important in the speech.

Africa’s future is up to Africans

Though this is a self-evident truth, the state of Africa requires that one keeps repeating the refrain. The key message from Obama was, however, not the plain meaning of the phrase. He made a crucial point about pointing fingers. Those who wrong Africa must be held responsible but Africa must also stop looking outside for the cause of all the continent’s major problems. We must take responsibility for our failures not just within the national borders but in international diplomacy and engagement. If African governments send cronies or incompetent Ambassadors to negotiate trade, for example, they should not expect improved terms of international trade. If positions not grounded in reality are taken in climate change, intellectual property, health, refugees issues and migration, human rights etc we should not expect any better. As Obama argues, Africa will be what we make it.

In the pointing fingers question, there is also what Obama did not say. The West shares a fair share of causing and/or exacerbating Africa’s problems but increasingly Africa must be candid about its relationship with the East and the problems that might come from there.

A new Moment of Promise

Notwithstanding the many problems of Africa especially in these times of financial crisis there are also many opportunities for building a better future. From technology, to better educated human resources, strong and powerful Diasporas through to younger populations one can see many opportunities for Africa to move forward. Obama is therefore right to emphasise that there is still a chance for a new beginning

Beyond “Election Democracies” and the Lunacy of Benevolent Dictators

Probably the most significant highlight in Obama’s speech was what he said about democracy and good governance. There are two take home points that we have to always remember. The first was the point that democracy is not just about elections, but most importantly what happens between elections. The second and one that he should be applauded for most, is the firm dismissal of the lunatic idea that floats around many a time that Africa just needs benevolent dictators to develop. The message could not have been put better - “Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.”

Corruption

No serious person can argue with the damage that corruption causes to Africa, from the village level to the national level. As Obama argues, “In my father’s life, it was partly tribalism and patronage in an independent Kenya that for a long stretch derailed his career, and we know that this kind of corruption is a daily fact of life for far too many.” There is corruption in all societies, including in the U.S.A. The difference between those societies that keep corruption low and those that have rampant corruption is the attitude and concrete responses. As long as people believe that corruption is a way of life, and as long as those who are corrupt, especially at the top, are never held accountable there is no hope. This is what will have to change in those African countries where corruption is rife. In a recent report, Kenya, Obama’s ancestral country was ranked the most corrupt. It is the same country that Eric Wainana, a Kenya musician, christened Nchi ya kitu kidogo, which literally translates into ‘the country of bribery’.

Aid has to be more than Dollars

It is notable that Obama acknowledges that America’s and the West’s commitment to Africa must be measured by more than just the dollars they give. In the Ghana speech, he poignantly notes that “But the true sign of success is not whether we are a source of aid that helps people scrape by - it is whether we are partners in building the capacity for transformational change.” He also made the key point that America cannot use aid to pay Westerners and Western companies in Africa and claim to be helping. Without reducing the portion of aid resources going back to the U.S.A and the west through consultants and administration we cannot hope that foreign assistance will help Africa create conditions where such assistance is no longer needed. This approach should also be taken by Europe and by emerging donors such as China, India and Brazil.

Economic Diversification through Transformation

In the trade context, the policy set out by Obama is clearly promising. He argued that “Africans have shown capacity and commitment to create their own opportunities. But old habits must also be broken. Dependence on commodities - or single export - concentrates wealth in the hands of the few and leaves too many people vulnerable.” In essence, for trade and investment to spur sustained development, African economies must be diversified through real transformation. The point about focusing the food security initiative on new methods and technologies also makes a lot of sense provided those new methods and technologies also arise from improved capacities in Africa as opposed to continued dependence on foreign technology.

Energy and Climate Change - Remember Adaptation

The recognition by the Obama administration that energy and climate change is a critical issue for Africa’s development and future is laudable. This, as he points out, and as evidenced in many reports, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report, while Africa has contributed the least to global warming climate change impacts will be most severe there. The impacts on health, agriculture and food, water resources among others are already evident.

One worrying feature of Obama’s speech, however, is the overemphasis on mitigation and the failure to address adaptation which is a key area that America will need to play a constructive role both at government level and the private sector. As already noted, the climate change impacts on African populations are already real. Consequently, while mitigation remains important, in the short to medium term, Africa will require to do alot in adaptation. Here the role of technology cannot be overemphasised. And it is for this reason that the U.S.A will have stand up and be counted. The emerging issues regarding intellectual property and access to adaptation technologies will need to be tackled pragmatically. The attitude that the American government has taken before on these issues will have to shift for the U.S.A to be a real partner for Africa in addressing climate change.

Strengthening Public Health - Global Health Strategy

The singling out of public health as one of the main planks of Obama’s Africa policy makes sense on number of levels. The interconnections between improved public health and poverty reduction, economic growth and development generally are universally acknowledged. The challenge for Africa has been mobilising sufficient resources and bringing innovation to bear on efforts to improve health. In his speech, Obama says that America will support efforts to improve public health through a comprehensive global health strategy. A comprehensive and global approach is clearly key. In a recent article for the Journal for Global Health Governance titled Opportunities for the Obama Administration and the G20 ‘To Do Good’ for Global Health lays out some of the things that Obama can do for Africa and the rest of the developing world. In a nutshell, I argue that he can do goo by showing leadership in helping reform the World Health Organization (WHO) and by addressing a number of specific issues such as supporting the implementation of the WHO Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property.

Conflict - a Millstone around Africa’s Neck

Indeed! You couldn’t have put it better. Conflict is a heavy burden on Africa both in the countries where there is actual conflict as well as those in which there is no actual conflict. While acknowledging that it is wrong to caricature Africa as a continent of War, Obama had the right focus by calling on Africa and others to focus on diversity as a source of strength and not division; standing up to inhumanity in their midst, such as the case of Darfur; and having a clear vision for continental and regional security.

And Plain Old Human Rights

Though most of the themes Obama addressed in his speech had human rights implications, it is worthwhile that he did not fail to directly address the general issue of human rights. Echoing his speech in Moscow a few days earlier, he talked of the need to have an international system that ensures the universal rights of human beings are respected and violations opposed and sanctioned. The human rights lens has been a powerful force in moving Africa forward and has always to be part of the story.