Top U.S. Official on Africa Cites Successes, Challenges

He has made frequent appearances in Washington and addressed audiences across the United States, and he is regularly called to the White House for high-level deliberations. In an interview this week, he provided an overview of U.S. policy priorities and listed the reasons he’s bullish on Africa:

 

 

In Ghana, President John Atta-Mills has demonstrated outstanding leadership in his first year and a half in office. He continues to put the interest of his country and his people before all else, and I think they’re doing very well in Ghana. They’re expected to be a major oil producer in the next two years, and I think they have learned that oil can be both a blessing and a curse. They know there are two ways to go – to take the Norwegian model or to take the Nigerian model. Oil has been a tremendous asset in helping Norway and its citizens become more affluent, more educated and more economically resourceful.

 

Nigerian oil has been a curse and has left the Niger Delta an environmental disaster, and it has left conflict in its wake. The Ghanaians realize this, and I think they will be good stewards of their oil and good stewards of their resources. I think they will use their resources on the basis of a strong democratic underpinning, and that’s a good thing. That’s a good news story. Another good news story is Benin. We sometimes overlook small countries that are doing remarkably well. Benin, under its current democratic president, Yayi Boni, is using resources, as meager as they are, well and on behalf of the people. They’ve had an MCC (Millennium Challenge Corporation) compact – one of the early recipient countries – and they’ve used their MCC money extraordinarily well to work on agriculture, infrastructure and business projects. They’re looking forward to successfully finishing their projects and making another request.

 

Source: Allafrica