Rethinking US Foreign Assistance Blog

What’s going to be President Obama’s legacy on Africa?  President Clinton championed AGOA, still the core of US-Africa trade relations. President Bush built PEPFAR and the MCC.  There’s an outside chance that Feed the Future could be Obama’s lasting contribution, but I think the jury’s still out.  So what kind of big impact-big splash effort could we hope for in the next four years, from either a second Obama term or a new Romney administration?

During a recent vacation in an African country (that shall remain nameless here), I found myself, entirely by accident, sharing a large bush camp dinner table with a delegation of local officials and the US ambassador to that country.  Hmm, what would they talk about?   Political intrigue? Business deals?  The Olympics?  Instead I cringed at the actual topic:  “So, how are you integrating youth outreach into your conservation programs?”

The Millennium Challenge Corporation’s (MCC) board of directors has terminated Mali’s compact following the late-March military coup. The five-year, $460 million compact will end at least one month earlier than expected. Portions of the Bamako airport and Alatona irrigation projects won’t be finished.  And barring a major turn of events, the investments won’t yield the anticipated returns: two million beneficiaries and an estimated $400 million increase in household income.

Senegal, once a stable democracy, is on shaky ground as it approaches controversial presidential elections this weekend. President Abdoulaye Wade’s arguably unconstitutional bid for a third term is sparking protests and violence. Meanwhile, the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)—whose raison d’etre is to work with just and democratic governments—maintains a $540 million, five-year development package in the country.