Wolves in sheep's clothing?
Guest post by Volker Seitz on the dissolution of USAID, part 2
The former ambassador of the African Union to the United States strongly criticizes USAID and the exploitation of developing nations by Western trade policy. She is not alone in Africa in this. That's why we all should listen carefully, says the guest author.
The US Agency for International Development, USAID for short, is to be reduced to a minimum according to US President Donald Trump. He has appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio as acting director of USAID for this task. Rubio has initiated a review of all foreign aid programs to ensure that they are efficient and in line with US foreign policy as part of the “America First” agenda, the ministry announced. The agency, which was founded in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy, is said to be a quasi-outpost of the CIA and jointly responsible for the destabilization and various overthrows of foreign governments.
Why is an agency that has given the USA more than six decades of influence around the world now being dismantled? “This organization will probably simply no longer be needed in the future,” says German business journalist Ernst Wolff. Their way of exerting influence is “the influence of yesterday”. And “the influence of today and tomorrow” is handled via the digital sphere, he argues in an interview. “Today, you can shut down governments by cutting them off from the internet, and you can direct financial flows in one direction or the other.” Wolff predicts that many more authorities will be dismantled, “but not with the aim of limiting power, but to rely on new technocratic, much more effective means of power.”
The guest commentary by Volker Seitz deals with the official original task of USAID: international development aid and the sustainability of its projects.
By Volker Seitz
All the German media complain that the loss of US aid means that people in Africa have fewer opportunities, for example in education and healthcare. Naturally, every German government - despite very tight budgets - is desperate to close the gap. Germany is obviously not entirely without a global conscience. After all, there has finally been more discussion about development aid in recent weeks.
I recommend (especially to journalists) that they listen to the former ambassador of the African Union to the United States, Arikana Chihombori-Quao, on the subject. She says, among other things, in the program The Bottom Line of Al Jazeera English:
“We need to understand the real reason why USAID is in Africa, and not just USAID, but other NGOs They are coming in claiming that they’re introducing grassroots initiatives that are going to help the people, and so they use that as a way to go into the most remote parts of Africa. When you look at it on paper, it all looks really good, but they’re actually wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
“The American taxpayer needs to know the billions of dollars that are being given to USAID. A fraction is making it to the people.”
“They’re using that open access, sounding humanitarian, to constantly destabilize governments. I can tell you right now, the majority of African leaders, and not just African leaders, but leaders in the developing world are celebrating the exit of USAID. If you think about it, their sole purpose, for example, filling in the gaps in healthcare and education, where is the change? Show me one country that USAID was in and education improved. Show me what country where USAID was in and healthcare improved?”
Dr. med. Chihombori was born in Zimbabwe. She is a medical doctor (practiced for 29 years in Murfreesboro/Tennessee) and diplomat. She represented the African Union as Ambassador to the USA from 2017 to 2019. She is married to the Ghanaian internist Dr. Nil Saban Quao and has five children. The family now lives in the USA.
Development policy is still intransparent in Germany too
I'm sure our development politicians don't want to hear what the lady has to say about the impact of “aid”. They have learned little, because poverty reduction has only made rudimentary progress in recent decades. Nevertheless, the question of whether aid can also do harm is rarely asked. But politicians and aid workers never want to make themselves dispensable again.
Aid is run as a life's work, even if countless “projects” or “programs” are implemented as foreign bodies in the countries. As I have observed time and time again in 17 years in Africa and two years in Armenia, the projects have left no trace shortly after completion. They were successful during their lifetime because there was never a shortage of money for operating resources, vehicles and high salaries. I am convinced that a serious debate should also lead to a review of German development policy (which has been debt-financed for years).
This text was first published in German on Achgut and then on my website.
Volker Seitz was ambassador to Africa for the German Foreign Office for seventeen years and is the author of the bestseller Afrika wird armregiert (Africa is being governed into poverty), dtv, 11th edition 2021.
Guest posts do not automatically reflect the opinion of the blog owner.
Here part 1 of Volker Seitz’ contribution to the debate about USAID:
More money = more development?
President Donald Trump has ordered a 90-day pause in development aid - with the exception of humanitarian aid - until its efficiency and consistency with US foreign policy have been assessed. Germany should take this as an example, says guest author.