Africa: Will Obama's Second Term Frustrate Africa Again?

While Barack Obama's re-election has been met with enthusiasm across Africa, many are frustrated about a lack of delivery on past promises.

If there was one place outside Barack Obama's hometown of Chicago more excited by his November re-election, it was Kogelo. Since Mr Obama's first election, this small market town in western Kenya - the birthplace of the US president's father - has seen a paved road, electricity, several water wells, and two hotels built. As residents celebrated his victory with Swahili gospel songs, many hoped their star would continue to rise on the coattails of the town's famous grandson.

For the rest of Africa, Kogelo has been the exception rather than the rule. Back in 2008, the chief executive of one Accra-based business conglomerate commissioned a life-size painting of the new US president which dominated his office and wowed visitors. It has since been moved aside to accommodate a larger portrait of a resurrected Jesus.

This snub is, perhaps, a reflection of the suspicion felt by many that Mr Obama's priorities are elsewhere. His first major diplomatic trip abroad since re-election was instructive: Myanmar. By choosing a country that was until recently under US sanctions, Mr Obama hopes to cement a turnaround in US geo-strategic priorities from West to East.

Where does Africa fit in? During Mr Obama's first term Peter Pham, director of the Africa programme at the Washington-based Atlantic Council, likened the continent to the stepchild of US foreign policy.

"During the first four years of the Obama administration, the president has put the poor stepchild out to foster with secretary of state Hillary Clinton and others," Mr Pham said. "Hopefully, even if Africa remains a stepchild, it is at least admitted back to the family home during the second term. Otherwise, we might find it has been adopted by other interested parties."

When Mr Obama visited Ghana in July 2009, it was the earliest a US president had ever been to Africa following inauguration. Africa, he said, was America's partner. It was "a fundamental part" of an interconnected world and he would initiate a new relationship based on mutual respect. The implication was clear: Africa would no longer be ignored.

But while the continent is serenaded diplomatically and commercially by the emerging economies of Asia, South America and the Gulf, Mr Obama has not set foot in sub-Saharan Africa since the Ghana trip. And US strategy for Africa has not changed as much as his rhetoric might have suggested.

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201301161369.html

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