US Vice President Kamala Harris is already in Zambia, as the last leg for her maiden trip to Africa, after assuming the office of the Vice President. Importantly, the international media has covered her visit fairly well and has been keen to see how she could connect with the Africans. It is still not clear how her visit has impacted Africa-US relations and the ramifications of not alone her visit but a spate of jaunts undertaken by the high ranking officials from the US to the continent, including the several visits of Secretary of State Antony Blinken and that of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
It may be noted that Kamala Harris’s pitches at different countries she visited varied from the others. The first country she visited was Ghana, where she assured not only investments routed primarily through the private sector but also timely help from the US for promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. What she highlighted during her visit was that the US is an ally that they could depend on at the time of their need and would not do anything to add to their woes, particularly on the debt front, unlike China. At the same time, the tenor of her discourse was that a solution for every country in the region should come from their efforts.
The selection of Ghana as the first port of call could be because of its strong democratic traditions and respect for rule of law. At the same time, she lashed out at the external forces that are trying to wreck the democratic traditions, such as jihadists and mercenary outfits allegedly supported by Russia to penetrate the West African countries from the Sahel region. What she had in her mind was the alleged presence of the Russian mercenary group Wagner- which is present in large numbers in the Sahel region to counter the overwhelming presence of France, an ex-colonial country, that remotely controlled the political systems in the Sahel region, through the deployment of troops.
In Tanzania, the overall tone and narrative of Kamala Harris was different. She praised the pathbreaking efforts made by President Samia Suluhu Hassan for restoring democratic values in the country by restoring powers to the opposition parties to hold rallies, a signal that they have the right to dissent with the government, a rare attribute these days in the administrative apparatus of the growing number of countries in the region, which claim to be democratic but with highly compromised democratic institutions. Kamala Harris could emotionally connect with the Tanzanian president when both espoused the need for gender equality and empowerment of women. By visiting the quarters where slaves were kept before they were dispatched to the cotton fields of the United States and other regions of Europe in the yesteryears, she tried to identify herself as one among them as her father originally hailed from Jamaica and later migrated to the US. The emotional bonding she could create was overwhelming, let alone her personal connection with the Tanzanian President, who is trying to script a new discourse of freedom and openness in a country, where her immediate predecessor tried to stifle freedom of expression in whatever way that was possible.
Her last port of call-Zambia- is now a poster boy of the West as a country trying to adopt the liberalized regime not alone as an economic tool for progress but reforming its political apparatus. As a country that had defaulted on sovereign debt because of fiscal profligacy, Harris talked more about the need for restructuring the debt burden of the country, which is creating flutters. Its talk with the IMF for a viable debt restructuring plan has been struck in limbo due to the ambivalence taken by its creditors including China. Her entourage has explained how the US is working towards brokering a deal with the IMF by bringing its creditors including China on the same page. The southern African country has an estimated debt burden of US$17.3 billion, which the country is struggling to cope with since a lion part of the foreign exchange outgo is mainly for debt servicing.
In a public address, which is widely publicised, the US Vice President exhorted the international community to come around Zambia to help the country to stand on its own legs. She also highlighted the need for accommodation by all countries to bail out the beleaguered economy of the Southern African country.
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema in Lusaka made a fervent plea to find lasting solutions to the vexatious problems of the country, which he inherited from his predecessor. Zambia is being one of the countries in the region, which had a smooth transition of power, it is incumbent on the US and the West European countries to do their best in nurturing democratic institutions also for promoting tenets of liberalization because what is happening in Zambia can have a ripple effect in the entire continent and beyond. At the same time, it is pertinent to point out a recent statement of its president that human freedom cannot fill stomachs, a euphemistic statement pointing towards the need for discipline and order among the citizens to make possible inclusive development. Political analysts and opposition parties interpret this lauded statement as an expression of the President’s disenchantment with the liberal policies.
The moot point is whether these exercises in isolation can bring the continent closer to the Western bloc both emotionally and politically. The aggressive posture of the US to reach out to Africa is coming at a time when France’s hold on the continent especially in sub-Saharan Africa’s Sahel region is waning. In the meantime, China and Russia are gearing up to intensify their outreach in the region mainly as important investors in critical areas. They have an advantage. That is about the expediency of taking quick decisions from a single authority, without getting entrapped in the democratic process of involving different institutions. A case in point is Kamala Harris’ announcement in Ghana to provide US$100 million to be spent on Africa’s welfare programs including the empowerment of women. That can become a reality only after congressional endorsement. But China or Russia does not need such endorsing authority. That is the difference. It can make a lot of difference in the outreach strategy.
