USA-Africa : how not to spoil opportunities

"The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit should not be seen as the beginning of a process, but rather as another important step in ongoing U.S. engagement with Africa.", suggestion of Amadou Sy

At the end, be humble : Andrew Young might teach you things. "Once back home, listen to your elders!!" This was one of the advice I got from there.

It is very well said that USA and Africa - in general- want this summit a “dynamic opportunity”. I thought that there is no way interests and stakes can be fully analyzed in three days. And I do agree, Heads of States are just political symbols to work on such an opportunity. Furthermore, even though it’s a first such huge summit in USA –we know such events happened between France, Japan, China, India- and Africa, but let’s agree - as I noticed-, USA is different from those other countries, though both of them members of G7 or whatsoever “world’s tankers”.

Hugeness of the event: Look here, seeing the list of attending Presidents and Heads of Governments, this gathering had never happened before and nowhere. Of course, taking a

With Amadou Sy

flight to Washington DC is different from flying to Beijing or to Tokyo. If economy, let’s say commerce and trade are the main topic to focus on, what an opening to penetrate that Connecticut Avenue: World Bank.  What a notch to target who to negotiate with.  Yes, Dr Jim Yong Kim was one of the inaugurating officers. Though Russia, Brazil, South Africa, India “innovate” by trying to start another common financial institution, the World Bank / IFM –just to name these-, “can be only in USA”. Otherwise, people discussing if it is a WB-Africa or a US-Africa event, that’s no issue. USA remains the key player. People need to target with who/how/when to negotiate and make contracts. Again, this isn’t the Heads of States/Governments’ role. I even doubt if they are really skilled for that.

Missing prospect: Let’s consider a small but strategic country such Burundi. It has been a great opportunity for that country to have its President around and be received –the first hours- by the State Secretary. What a procedure chance? However, in terms of strategic communication, this is how Burundi can’t spoil the occasion: setting up this summit, President Obama didn’t go toBurundi, neither did the SecretaryKerry.  We can find out the reasons of the kind of choices. But, governance and cultural motive stay on the top. Here is my point: as far as I know, President Nkurunziza knows enough English not to address to USA in French, especially in a kind of short but very important press conference. Here are the facts: he was hosted, escorted and led by John Kerry –who speaks very well French too-. Besides, he still needs “to read” –to be concise and clear-, as Kerry did. Besides this procedure, the “we have peace keepers in Somalia, CAR, etc.” looks needing updates. Oh, what that has to do- straight away- with energy, trade, investing in the future generation, health, etc., the main focus of the summit? By the way, did anybody see a Burundi National Statement about the summit?

Still a way out: Let’s agree that, Burundi doesn’t yet decide on its geopolitical and cultural spots despite the “Global” realities, process and stakes. It would be pleasing and foreseeing, though, if the country’s Health/Trade/Energy and electricity/ Ministers are of the delegation. My message is that Bush and his global policy on HIV/AIDS, same as the Clinton’s AGOA are more than currently active. In fact, though I am not an economic strategist, looking on the list of CEOs who attended the summit, Burundi to be represented by the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Tourism is indistinguishable. Comparatively, South Africa, Rwanda, Malawi, Ethiopia, etc., are represented by specific companies: local airways companies, energy companies, and the like. The reason might be “keeping the opportunity dynamic.” They will be meeting detailed American counterparts and governmental institutions.

A factual Anecdote: Find and read it. It is written, black and white! As Washington hosted the World Bank spring summit, a seat was reserved to Burundi representative on a panel, just aside Ban Kimoon, World Bank President, MichaelBloomberg, Lawrence Summers,  and Margaret Chan. Was that for a fair reason? We all know the country still have ways to go in terms of development. It is said that they wanted to encourage the small and economically less competitive country which is, however, trying to provide some health services to its inhabitants. Guess what –if you don’t read the written article and from a rather trustful source-: the Burundi Representative didn’t attend that day’s activities. The seat was then taken by the powerful Nigerian female Minister. “At least, scientists, decision makers, etc., in the hall would have learned more about the small country’s realities” laughed an analyst.   Last, “even though international community wouldn’t financially support us, we will organize elections” (Nduwimana,E.). Really?

Takeaway: I was not neither the first nor the last to witness and participate in many and active –from independent institutions/organizations- conferences and forum, on Africa as well as the rest of the world. Diplomatically, “it’s a shame that dictators and ‘eternal’ Presidents are hosted in that democracy”, and by the Man at the end of his Term, said a political opponent in Benin. Nevertheless, how the “apathetic hands shake” between Kerry and Kompaore would be understood or interpreted? Who said “Museveni’s politicalstrategies want last longer?”  For sure, President Mugabe, Bashir, the Eritrean’s being shun doesn’t mean that all those who attended the summit are well seen by USA. USA’s Interests count too. “USA is a country that plan and acts for and on a long term. The general culture there is to give opportunities to everyone, on some conditions”, did I learn. 

Suggestion : African Leaders, take good model. Some would prefere heroes and here, identifying to who has succeeded would be rather human being. African Leaders, go and learn, at least, listen to people like Charlayne Hunter-Gault,  Sen. Gregory W. Meeks, Loretta Ross, Andrew Young (this humanitarian is even brought to you), Billye Aaron, Jimmy Carter, Vicki R. Palmer, and others. Go and visit/be inspired by memorials. Be humble! 


Audace Machado  

Sommet USA-Afrique : Un symbole incompris

“Les USA investissent très peu en Afrique”, ai-je entendu, au retour dans mon Burundi. Mon œil ! Je dirais, « Que les choses nous échappent ! ». Juste, pour exemple, Michèle Obama et ses services s’organisent pour accueillir et entretenir les femmes de ces leaders africains – à l’exception de Johnson S. « l’Homme fort » du Liberia qui sera avec les hommes- ; mais je serais étonné si ces mêmes Dames ne rencontraient pas aussi plusieurs ONGs, organisations ou « escrocs » religieux qui apportent beaucoup de dollars en Afrique. Haha, serais-je le premier à parler des mouvements –religieux dits- du réveil ? Oui, Bagbo et son Simone en ont payé les couts. Ce n’est qu’un exemple.

Avec Amb. H.J. Cohen

En outre, nos têtes moins éclairées ignorent ou oublient très vite que les Nations-Unies ont leur quartier général à New York. Ignorer ce fait, c’est croire que la visite de Samantha Power ou de JohnKerry dans les Grands Lacs Africains était ordinaire.  Lors d’une discussion introductive avec un collègue journaliste d’Isanganiro qui  voulait mon point de vue  dans une édition du journal de ladite radio – au départ du Président vers Washington, DC-, je souhaitais audit Président d’être accueilli au siège de la Banque Mondiale, non loin du FMI, en plein Washington DC.

Oui, Obama insiste sur le mot « jeunesse », comme par ailleurs tous les politiciens –surtout en propagande-. Mais encore, bien que ce soit une logique toute véridique, investir pour le développement c’est investir dans la jeunesse. Mais à part que l’on soit à la fin du YALI 2014, ou Forum des jeunes leaders africains aux USA, investissement dans la jeunesse veut dire notamment, éducation compétitive, création et offre d’emploie, ai-je appris.

Si ce sommet est à la Une aujourd’hui, disons aussi que c’est une affaire de culture et de media. C’est surement aussi parce que Obama est le 1^er Président au sang africain et à la tête d’une telle puissance politico-économique et sociale. Sinon, le genre de mouvement des Chefs d’Etats Africain s’est observé en Chine, au Japon, et dernièrement, en France. Donc, rien de nouveau à part que les USA diffèrent, stratégiquement et, pour les intérêts et priorités, de ces autres puissances. Ceci dit, a une journée dudit sommet, pas un seul entretien/tête à tête  n’est annoncé, entre Obama et un seul de ses pairs.

Enfin, s’il existe AGOA et que des businesswomen africaines sont présentement invitées aux USA, bref en plus de l’économique, « la gouvernance va au-delà des instances issues des élections, et la sécurité, la justice et le respect des doits humains sont d’une importance capitale pour les USA », entendais-je de l’Ancien « Africain », Herman Cohen.

Donc, qu’on ne se leurre pas : si, d’une part il y a des absents, évités ou non invités audit sommet, d’autre part, les leaders invités et présents ne veut pas dire que tout est clean entre les USA et leur style de gouvernance chez eux. Autant, Mugabe était « accepté » à Bruxelles en Avril passé, mais il ne le sera pas à Washington. Ce n’est qu’un exemple. Et puis, « Leaders Africains » est un large concept : ça ne se limite pas qu’aux Chefs d' Etats et de Gouvernement. Mais encore, il y’en a qui sont voulus présents pour des remarques directs. Eh oui, Museveni n’est pas moindre politique ! Parcourons les medias et rapports divers pour savoir que ce sommet arrive au moment au la gouvernance militarisée et « l’éternisation » au pouvoir refait surface, en Afrique, en général.  Donc, l’impact de ce sommet n’est pas à circonscrire aux seuls 5 et 6 Août 2014.    

Audace Machado

Update 
Agoa, Leaders as ministers, World Bank as a key US-player

Behind that Nelson Madiba Mandela's Face

Good Bye, Man

At his inauguration, "three among the African Presidents were absent: the Rwandese, the Burundian -as they succumbed in the Kanombe's flight's accident- and the Camerounian -Paul Biya who was in honeymoon with her newly married, Chantal", a friend of mine told me. 19 years after, as Madiba passed away, everyone want to be there. What a ironic mourning! (I get back to this at the end) 

For the first time, in 2009, the rumor ran, “Nelson Mandela can’t see the next year’s daylight.” Already, during the Expo-2005, I realized how the African Icon was getting really old: people from all over the world, me included, were stopping and contemplate that kind of “aging skin” of the portrait of the African Icon.  In 2010, I wanted to know the hidden face of that particular man. The first friend of the African/world icon I was suggested to talk to was Lucie Pagé. “I think that South-Africa suffered because of its human’s diversity, but it is also recovering due to that people’s identities recognition”, she told me. During my studies in America, in “Applied Contextual Leadership; Adaptive Strategies for Multicultural Leadership and Dialogue” class, I tried to recall what I mainly understood from that man’s –and followers/folks’- heritage. 

Audace Machado

         I/we leaned a lot! Of course, we can’t know everything even in that more or less two hours interview –made with different personalities, backgrounds, friends, political companions, etc. - But, if they (Mandela and friends) were on the front line against Apartheid, what the identity and people diversity mean to me, what it logically carries and what about it in our everyday life? This understanding trial is very important as comes the time to promote leadership in the world.

            Nelson Mandela understood that we owe to the life the fact that we are born as human being with ascribed qualities and qualifications. Besides, we chose to be of one identity but, the society contributes to identify us by attributing to us some labels. We adopt some of them and we reject even deny some others. And it seems to me that that concept diversity is the most complex and hardest word to define. Back to my introductory example, not only Lucie became herself an icon in Canada in fighting against the Apartheid –the general policy that divided

Lucie et Jay-son mari-

and destroyed South Africa-, and she is a white woman. She is not originally South-African. She is a journalist. She is a book writer. Moreover, I would say, I talked for hours with the wife of another personality: Jay Naidoo. So, on one hand, I talked about an example fighting of racism and exclusive system with a strange person to me, and on the other hand, who am I to initiate this audience with her? Just a journalist, from a small country almost not known for any reason. A single man discussing with a mother. An African questioning a Canadian. A black guy listening to a white woman married to an Indian man, etc. We both discussed strange and diverse issue being strangers to one another.

           From Mandela and his fighting, though brutal in the 1960’s,

Mediator in the Near East

we learn that people have and still don’t have tolerance to differences. The reason may be the personal or group interests, or fear, or ignorance –“The lack of emphasis to educational achievement” (p.290), says Barack (2006)-, etc. Very important for the American who forwarded the Mandela’s “Conversation with myself”.                                 
That looks our everyday life. Once he became the Burundian Peace Accord’s Mediator, “He surely understood that kind of reality in your country”,

Mediator in Burundi

Jean Guiloineau who translated the book “Nelson Mandela”, told me. In other words, that was the reality, if not even now, in South-Africa, in Rwanda, in Burundi, in United States of America and elsewhere. Since 1974, one of the famous song about racism in America is “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd who brought: “In Birmingham they love the governor. Now we all did what we could do. Now Watergate does not bother me. Does your conscience bother you? Tell the truth.” The identity reality had brought mistrust, hatred even killings between white people and colored, especially black people, in America. On one side, the governor George Corley Wallace is known as one of the leaders to lead this alienation in the society, on another side and as a behavior from the black people, Obama altercates that “African Americans understand that culture matters but that culture is shaped by circumstance.” (P.302-3).

          «46864 Robben Island »: Madiba passed in many shameful « events » - witnessed Massacres, experienced Jail, etc., to and as a symbol of Peace building, justice and Reconciliation. Some “talk about Revolution”, others wanted to meet him:  Hillary Clinton got a breakfast at Madela’s. Pope Jean Paul II shook his hand. “He was a man full of humanity”, my friend Apollinaire Gahungu, told me. December 5th, 2013 is noted world historical day: The 1993 Nobel Prize waved Goodbye!

        What an Ironic Mourning! Till 2008, great democracy such as USA were still considering Mandela as a terrorist. I can't believe Obama absent to this ceremony. Oh, I meant other former ruling people. And I don't mean Americans only. Those French too. Why that hook or by crook rush? A woman from my country wrote : "The hatred will never take the last word" (translated from french). Again, my friend recalled that the kind of Presidential rush at burial ceremonies started with the Hirohito's funerals. At Pope Jean Paul II, everyone were there. From the Pakistan to the English...I witnessed that. Was that by respect, or some want just to show?
Let's think about this : "when South-Soudan got its independence, I saw many 'respected' people who were 'invisible'. Some struggled to be visible", continued my friend. I wonder if they all really need to go there. Let's think about the Burundian Nkurunziza's response to journalists' questions such as, "how do you pay tribute to Mandela with the Arusha Accord? The answer "may be easy". But, as your country jails politicians as Mandela has been, will you visit 46864 before going back to Burundi? 

African Great Lakes, Still Avoiding the States' collapse

"There must be a document signed by all the parties in conflict, attesting to the end of the war and the so-called faction M23 to the east of the Congo", clarifies the Senator Russell D. Feingold.

The debate on the conflicts in the Great Lakes Region was hotly debated in the measure or, especially the Congolese and Rwandan -in addition to the other observers’ present- arguing on the facts and causes of these conflicts. Ambassador Johnnie Carson, senior advisor of the President Obama had reminded us of the obvious facts: "This region is one of the most troubled in the world, and worse, thousands of women and children have perished or are raped during the last decades, which cannot continue in these times, and in the eyes of the world.” No need to go over the issues of poverty arrogant that prevails there. 

 

Audace Machado

 

No rush, limiting the causes of this conflict, to the facts. In this conference-debate, there was a lot

more question of the crisis in the East of the Congo. "It has been seen that some veterans of the M23 are also members of the other rebel movements such the FDLR ".  By pointing out that, one of the Congolese Intellectuals based in Washington DC, informed several in the room. Russell, the Special Envoy of the USA in the Great Lakes Region, acquiesced. The senator then remarked that "in this conflict, the intention of the Monusco was more help to manage various issues related to insecurity, including the question of the FDLR even before the M23 was born".  Russell to add that he is very optimistic given the fact that the FDLR as rebels, has known of transformations: "Surely change of ideas and objectives, but still of structure, as of years ".  Senator Russell has added, however, that he is not naive, to the extent that the members of this movement are dispersed in the sub-region and are capable of committing other packages. As well, "if you are telling me that Mr. James Kabarebe has said to Steve McDonald that the FDLR is not a danger to the Rwanda, i would go, with reserves, understand that such an organization is different from the actions of its members, and that I think is what has meant to say JamesKabarebe ", added Senator Russell, speaking on the most probable roots of this conflict.

Never compromise on the causes of this conflict. A young Rwandese in the room would have very much liked to be long to recall that relations were good between Rwanda and the Congo before 1994, but the Senator Russell had been more far in his introduction: "I have been witnessing of the facts of the governance of Idi Amin in Uganda, of Mobutu and especially of the assassination of Lumumba, but still of these inhumanity in Rwanda and Burundi and almost at the same time." Those who have followed very well would have understood that the strategy proposed by Russell, first understand, this series of crises in the Great Lakes Region, is to project itself to the interconnection of events and on a regional plan. "I have surely not been understood in the first place when I proposed to colleagues that we follow closely the massacres in Darfur."  He insisted on this interconnection, avoiding answering to some "emotional” questions: "It is more that the time for Kinshasa to show its capacity to organize not only the administration of the territory, but also the election of 2016.” Here, it was just to introduce another discussion, as a take away. The real causes of this instability in the East of the Congo in particular and in the Great Lakes region in general. One Congolese has introduced himself saying that he had freshly arrived from the DRC to ask if "in the prospects for management of these conflicts, there was need to take account of the ethnic aspects".  Recalling that in this region, we cannot deny these identities and that people have and are still persecuted for their identities.  Russell smiled when he disclosed one of the discussions that he would have had with MATATA Mapon : "He will tell you that the DRC has more than 500 ethnic groups but only one cause problem."  When the DRC will be better organized, we will hear less of the words, kinds of “The west has just plunder Africa", or the "The Great Lakes are poor", etc.

A lasting  solution. " In Pretoria, I have been asked what is my great concern - after that the M23 has declared the end of the war -, and I have said that it would be that people think that this is really the end of these conflicts in the East of the DRC, and in the Great Lakes. Kinshasa must discuss with

its opponents." The special envoy to the Great Lakes Region to add, "In last July, I had a discussion with President Obama, the States Secretary Kerry and their team, and we have agreed that we must take the conflicts in the Great Lakes most seriously we ever did before." In addition to the financial support required by the Region, it must, on return, show itself responsible with regard to a different organization of a militarization of the whole country life.

Yes, did you read  «Dancing in the Glory of Monsters : The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa ». In the DRC for example, the natural resources are only one way of financing the war, and not a cause in itself. Otherwise, how do we explain the fact that armed men -even mentally- control various resources of income (?), understanding Stearns’ analysis. About Nkunda, Ntaganda, Makenga, Makanika, Bisimwa, etc., - again, to limit to the East part of Congo only-, "We will do everything to integrate the countries of the Region to be responsible and to work together for a lasting peace in this region. In addition, we should distinguish between the rebel groups holders even weapons, and those who commit crimes against humanity"; Senator Russell Feingold then gaveled as well his sales pitch.