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Black Star News Publisher Milton Allimadi gives Africa policy advice to President-elect Joe Biden in New York Daily News article.
Dear President-Elect Biden,
As a veteran African journalist, I have some insights that may help your administration formulate Africa policy.
For starters, I disagree with what your nominee as U.S. ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas Greenfield — when she was Obama’s assistant secretary of state for Africa — told Shaka Ssali, host of the popular “Straight Talk Africa” program on Voice of America, on Aug. 17, 2016. Greenfield said that while the U.S. would never accept military coups in Africa, she was “not opposed to a country changing its constitution to allow for a third term or unlimited term.” This is a dangerous position and a recipe for permanent tyranny in Africa.
Mr. President-elect, over 60% of Africa’s 1.3 billion population is younger than 25. Our policy needs to relate to the nations in this fast-changing continent differently than ever before.
I recommend appointing youthful ambassadors who are better placed to answer the needs of and connect with this population. More African-American ambassadors, and African immigrants who are U.S. citizens, would also fulfill your pledge for a very diverse administration. Your administration needs to understand the implications of the fact that Africa has been spared the worst ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the U.S. Africa has about four times the U.S. population yet, as of Dec. 8, 2020, the total number of cases was 2.3 million with 54,564 reported deaths, according to the Africa CDC. By comparison the U.S. reported 14.8 million cases and 282,785 deaths.
In Africa, the pandemic’s worst toll is not loss of life but economic disruption. Revenue from commodity and mineral exports declined due to lockdowns, and tourism receipts have collapsed. The revenue decline has compromised Africa’s ability to meet foreign debt obligations which totaled $417 billion in 2019. Zambia, whose total debt stood at $27.3 billion, defaulted on interest payments last month. Other countries could follow suit.
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