Yellen set for America’s year of wooing Africa

Dakar — US treasury secretary Janet Yellen will begin a year of visits by top US officials to Africa on Friday with a firm pledge of partnership and investment, eyeing the massive economic opportunities created by the continent’s demographic boom.

In a speech to be delivered in Dakar, Senegal, Yellen will map a vision for strengthening US-African ties after decades in which America’s strategic rival China dominated lending and investment across the continent.

Her three-country trip — with other stops planned in SA and Zambia — comes after a lengthy meeting with Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He in Zurich on Tuesday, where both sides underscored the need for greater co-ordination on global challenges such as climate change and food security.

US officials insist increased engagement by President Joe Biden and US officials aims to deepen existing ties with Africa, but they are also pitching what they say is a more sustainable alternative to China’s collateralised loans and non-market approach.

For their part, African nations say they are keen for increased investment and resources, at a time when tightening financial conditions and the appreciating dollar have raised the cost of servicing existing debt, and fiscal spending has been stretched by Covid-19 and higher inflation.

But some remain sceptical of a Cold War scenario that forces them to choose sides, said one industry leader.

In her remarks, Yellen will underscore the message delivered by Biden at last month's Africa Leaders Summit in Washington: “The United States is all in on Africa, and all in with Africa.”

“The US is here as a partner to help Africa realise its massive economic potential at home and advance its growing leadership abroad,” Yellen said in the prepared remarks.

Long haul

“Our engagement is not transactional, for show, or for the short-term. We are here to work with you as friends and partners for the long haul — through moments of stress and times of opportunity,” she said, without directly mentioning China.

Chinese trade with Africa is about four times that of the US, and Beijing rapidly expanded its lending by offering cheaper loans, though the opaque terms and collateral requirements are now being questioned by some African countries.

Yellen has criticised Beijing — now the world’s largest creditor — for dragging its heels in restructuring the debt of Zambia and other poor countries in Africa, an issue Treasury officials said they raised during Tuesday’s meeting with Liu.

She will highlight the opportunities presented by Africa’s young and booming population, with Africans projected to account a quarter of the world’s population in less than 30 years and its people becoming more educated, urbanised, and connected. 

Reuters