In Defence of Africa’s Relationship with USAID: Countering False Claims of Radical Pan Africanism

By Takura Zhangazha*

We may have a new form of what I will refer to as a fake Pan Africanism in our African immediate consciousness.

One that has recently found voice following the dramatic and tragic cutting of foreign aid assistance by the new United States government led by Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Accompanied by the quite literal shutting down of its largest state enabled donor, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). 

While I am not up to date on the impact of these cuts on global USAID programmes, I am more familiar with their impact on aid to countries in the global south.  With a specific interest on what all of this has meant for Africa and its continental political economy.  

A negative impact that has been reported extensively in mainstream and social media platforms.  With varied reactions from African governments, businesses, opposition political parties and non-governmental organisations (NGO’s). 

Most African government officials have as expected diplomatically expressed regret at the withdrawal of in particular support from USAID for a myriad of health, education and other developmental capacity building programmes. Some have gone further by accusing USAID of interfering in their domestic politics while ironically being recipients of many forms of much needed aid.

While the more opportunistic business circles have, despite being directly affected in relation to cancelled tenders have taken on an acerbic and profit eying pan Africanist tone.  One which argues that African governments should look within, shun corruption and engage their private capital services to fill in the evident gap left by USAID. (Even though we know the money will not be competitively enough for them)

NGO’s have had a different narrative due to the fact that in most cases they are part of what globally is known as the non-profit industrial complex (NPIC).  Even if by default.   One in which the established system of global philanthropy by either global north governments and wealthy individuals sought to give a human face to global challenges. All within the context of international relations determined by the then Cold War between the USA and the then Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), now Russia.  And also one which is very much a part of global corporate culture based on stock-exchanges/markets, investments and claims at ‘trickle-down’ neoliberal economics. 

So thee is no doubt that foreign aid came with conditionalities determined by global international relations.  But even this fact did not and does not take away what was and still is a global need to identify and work to resolve humanitarian problems.  Be they in a bilateral sense or under the supervision of the United Nations as the neutral arbiter of humanity’s challenges.

With this background of the matter, it is imperative that we look at Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s move to shutdown USAID from a more African reality based perspective.  

Its given immediate impact on the African continent are the loss of access to humanitarian aid for health, education, refugees, gender equality, civil society, media and others for ordinary Africans that relied on this aid. 

A reliance that for many reasons included war, legacies of colonialism and contemporary neoliberalism that has left many African governments and peoples quite literally hapless when it comes to priorities for their own citizens.

I use the turn of phrase ‘hapless’ because most of our African post/neo-colonial states were at the mercy of an historical global Cold War and tended to be pitted one against the other in relation to material and financial support in times of economic, natural disaster national crisis. Whether they looked to the global west or global east.

In the wake of these recent events we have a new false and ahistorical narrative about for example why should African states rely on USAID to run their health, education or even governance structures.

Africa’s role in the world has historically relied on international partnerships with established global superpowers and economies.   That the USA was one of the then strongest in the last half century does not preclude the fact that we also interacted with others for either direct aid, military support during our liberation struggles or even ideological frameworks to develop.   

The imperative was how we negotiated these relationships and these desires for aid or economic development.  And also how we have negotiated our own minerals, agricultural and human resources within the contemporary neoliberal global political economy. 

So it is relatively naïve to assume that the ending of USAID funding in Africa as of old is a reflection of any fundamental weaknesses of the African state.  Or to assume it as a new cause for some revamped but ephemeral Pan Africanism that occurs over things we do not control.  Clearly we don’t control American, European, Russian or Chinese foreign policy priorities.   

We only interact with them within a highly unfair and already poisoned global political economy laced with the legacies of colonialism, neo-colonialism and an ahistorical admiration of the global north.  

Indeed African states and governments need to be more self-reliant and choose their global economic or other partnerships more careful and organically to the needs of the people of our continent.  But that has not been a possibility in recent history.   We have to contend with the Americans, the Europeans, the Chinese, the Russians and also attempt at our own non-alignment in international interests that we eventually do not control. 

Even as we acknowledge how big USAID on the continent and its impact on livelihoods was, we cannot assume an own victim mentality when we know Africa’s placement in the global political economy.  Wherein in most cases, we deal the hand with are dealt with globally.  

We however need to interrogate this particular placement in its holistic nature beyond waiting for changes of government in the global north.   Or having secret and populist admirations for the celebrity politics of Donald Trump and his techno-acolytes. 

As Africans we know that 'democracy or development is not like Coca Cola' as once intoned by Nyerere. It has to be organic and with multiple solidarity partnerships that come with their own warts and all.

 But we can always and should negotiate a better placement of Africa in the world based on principles and not false-found, ahistorical and ephemeral populist Pan Africanisms. With or without USAID.

*Takura Zhangazha writes here in his personal capacity  (takura-zhangazha.blogspot.com) (takurazhangazha.com)