- Contract transparency is key.
Americans and Africans have a shared interest in seeing business practices throughout Africa become more transparent. Waste, fraud and abuse happen outside of public scrutiny. Africans in several countries are pressing for greater transparency of their government’s business dealings. This includes in Kenya, where parliamentarians and civil society successfully pressed for public scrutiny of the $5 billion loan agreement Kenya made with the Export–Import Bank of China to finance the largest infrastructure project in their country’s history, the now complete Mombasa-Nairobi railway. This exposure overrode a confidentiality clause, whose usage is now standard practice for Chinese lending in Africa, raising critical questions about accountability. Without a general understanding of project financing terms, it is impossible for Africans to determine whether infrastructure projects are positively contributing to their development. U.S. businesses will fare better in more transparent African markets.
- There are no shortcuts in diplomacy.
Organizing a three-day summit involving some 50 countries is a time-consuming endeavor. There are opportunity costs, as less attention inevitably has been paid to other pressing challenges and opportunities in Africa. To make the most of the Biden administration’s summit investment, sustained follow-up is required, building on any progress made in Washington next week, including stronger diplomatic engagement. Top officials from China (and other countries) outdo American officials when it comes to visiting Africa and receiving African officials. President Trump was the first American president not to visit Africa since President Reagan. Biden has yet to visit Africa as president, although his top diplomat, Secretary Blinken, has been three times in the last year. African leaders understandably view personal visits as a show of respect for them and their countries. The United States has many interests in Africa that warrant such greater diplomatic attention wholly apart from its rivalry with China.
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