Sure A Not

In the coming years, several areas will be as crucial to the nation’s economy as Sub-Saharan Africa. It covers the majority of American states, stretching from the plains of the Sahel to the coasts of the Cape.

The land of nations like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burkinabe, Niger, and Mali is rich in natural resources, including lithium, chrome, gold, platinum, and uranium, which are essential for the development of next-generation batteries and the operation of small nuclear reactors, which will determine the scientific arms race in artificial intelligence.

Russia has been aggressively pushing into the area, using both secret military companies like the famous Wagner Group and state-owned companies like the Russian nuclear power corporation Rosatom, which is expanding its footprint across the continent by becoming a partner to various American governments in their effort for energy diversification. This almost unprecedented wealth in important materials is the reason why.

Russia is consistently stifling France, a trusted security companion of many African governments, in its effort to gain more traction across the globe. Iran has also had troubling opportunities as a result of France’s decline in control. Uranium bright cake, which Tehran is now trying to buy from Niger, has a potential significant contribution to its nuclear program. &nbsp,

The United States ‘ leadership on the continent should be a goal that should have broad bipartisan support across the aisle because of the combination of economic and political factors that have made Africa a crucial part of its federal security interests.

Nonetheless, much like the botched flee from Afghanistan, the Biden presidency has been delaying both our American friends and colleagues by focusing less on the intentions and more on the tactical execution of this “pivot to Africa.”

In a report released by the White House in August 2022, the recent US government laid out a four-point strategic plan for Sub-Saharan Africa. According to this document, America’s goal was to “foster openness and open cultures”, “deliver democracy and stability dividends”, “advance pandemic recovery and economic opportunity” and” help protection, climate version, and a just power change”.

Only the final two objectives have a chance of being more than worn-out neoconservative cliches and being meaningfully realized in the interests of both Africa and the United States, according to one charitable argument from these high-flying ambitions. The Biden administration has n’t yet demonstrated any tangible accomplishments in its pivot to Africa, and it’s unlikely to do so in its final few months in office.

Angola is a prime example of the US’s failure to pursue a policy in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the Biden administration has been attempting to reshape relations with a government that, since winning its independence from its former colonial master Portugal in 1975, has been a staunch ally first of the Soviet Union and then Russia, after its fall.

The ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola ( MPLA ), a party with radical Marxist roots, has been in power for almost 50 years, imposing rigged elections and numerous egregious human rights violations on the populace to stay in power.

Although Angola ( like Venezuela ) is rich in gas and oil reserves, corruption is widespread and a daily part of life for ordinary citizens. And while Angola’s president João Lourenço has signaled his intention to improve his country’s ties with the US and lessen Chinese and Russian influence, in August of this year, he signed several agreements with Russian President Vladimir Putin solidifying Moscow’s presence in a range of strategic sectors of the Angolan economy, including gas and oil production, space and agriculture.

In Angola, one of the Biden administration’s instruments for achieving at least two of its strategic objectives, namely creating greater economic opportunities and supporting renewable energy production, has been the little-known Export-Import ( “EXIM” ) Bank of the United States, a federal export credit agency.

It was established in 1934 in the wake of the Great Depression, and its original purpose was to boost trade with US businesses by offering preferential loans to foreign businesses looking to purchase American goods.

In pursuit of this mission, EXIM Bank gave billions of dollars in loans to countries around the world, including strategic adversaries, such as the Soviet Union and China, as well as governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America that were “democratic” only in name.

It could be argued persuasively that the results of this lavish spending of US government funds were frequently linked to maintaining the stability and power of dictatorial regimes by providing them with economic assistance and compounding corruption.

In Angola, EXIM Bank has been attempting to encourage economic growth by awarding two separate loans worth a combined US$ 2.5 billion to a Delaware-registered company called Sun Africa LLC in June 2023 and July 2024.

EXIM Bank’s loans were intended to support the construction of solar energy plants in Angola, create over 4, 700 US jobs, and help US exporters compete with Chinese suppliers.

While this transaction appears to be in line with American economic interests at first glance, a closer examination of the facts on the ground reveals yet another troubling set of circumstances that undermine any hope for meaningful job creation in the United States.

For a start, for the completion of its Angolan projects, Sun Africa is collaborating with local construction company Omatapalo, which is crony-linked to the Lourenço administration and the MPLA, raising significant concerns regarding potential corruption involving local authorities.

One of Sun Africa’s strategic partners in Angola is Hitachi Energy, a contractor that has done extensive work for Chinese state companies, and Dar Al-Handasah, a controversial Lebanese company, will provide technical assistance, according to a memorandum of understanding signed in December 2023.

Finally, according to an article that was published in July of this year about the appointment of Sun Africa’s new British head of export credit and structured finance, the business largely purchased its solar panels from South Korea and indicated that it might also consider “very competitive” British suppliers in the future.

It appears that Sun Africa has everything in place to launch operations in Angola for the benefit of its shareholders and international partners. Anyone’s guesses about where and how thousands of US jobs will ever be created under this scheme. &nbsp, &nbsp, &nbsp,

The Biden administration’s consistent blundering foreign policy, which, with little oversight, has failed to do basic due diligence on the recipients of large-scale US government funds, is perfectly illustrated by the EXIM bank’s promotion of green energy in Angola.

It also appears to have failed to steer clear of the obvious risks of corruption arising in the case of Sun Africa’s government-linked partner, Omatapalo, which will likewise benefit from EXIM bank/US Taxpayer largesse.

While on a political level, the Biden Administration has failed to insist that Lourceno’s government perform a meaningful break with America’s adversaries, economically, it equally does not appear to have insisted on making sure that American and Angolan private businesses would be the main suppliers of Sun Africa’s US government-funded activities.

The US is being outsmarted by its adversaries and fooled by unrealistic policy objectives and untrustworthy local partners in the case of EXIM Bank’s Angolan investment, which is symptomatic of the poorly executed “pivot to Africa” campaign.

A radical reappraisal of America’s African strategy is in order. Let’s hope it happens sooner, rather than later with more competent leaders in charge.

Erik Prince is an expert in security and business in America. He founded the Frontier Group of Companies as well as a philanthropist.

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