5 ideas for a post-midterms Africa agenda

With last Tuesday’s midterm election giving Republicans control of the Senate and their biggest majority in the House of Representatives since Harry Truman sat in the Oval Office behind his “The Buck Stops Here” sign, President Obama has acknowledged that American voters sent a message and promised to “take care of business,” inviting congressional leaders to meet with him to search for ways to break the political gridlock in Washington.

If the president is serious about acting on what he described last Wednesday as his “unique responsibility to try and make this town work” and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the likely Senate majority leader when the new Congress convenes in January, continues to be of the mind that, as he expressed on election night, “we ought to start with the view that maybe there are some things we can agree on to make progress for the country,” then the risk of continued government dysfunction latent in the institutional dynamics resulting from the voters’ choices can be greatly mitigated. That’s why it is important to identify policy areas where genuine bipartisan consensus can be found, to deliver some early successes for any renewed cooperation across the aisles and down both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. Africa stands out as one such area.

Within the policy community, the Africa constituency has long been characterized by a bipartisan comity — it could hardly be otherwise given how Africa has long been the stepchild of American foreign policy — that is reflected in the broad continuity through administrations of both parties. Moreover, current issues of concern on the increasingly important continent lend themselves to an agenda whose broad principles Democrats and Republicans would generally find agreement on, even if specific provisions will necessarily be subject to political negotiation and compromise.

Here are five ideas to start with:

1. Renew and improve the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). In his remarks to the U.S.-Africa Business Forum during the historic U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in August, Obama asked Congress to not only to renew the AGOA — which substantially lowered commercial barriers with the United States and allowed sub-Saharan African countries to qualify for various trade benefits — but also rightly called for the legislation to be updated to shift its weight away from the energy sector, so that it could help “more Africans, including women and small- and medium-sized businesses, getting their goods to market.” Indeed, AGOA needs a bit of an upgrade to transform it from a preferential trade scheme into a sustainable program that encourages African integration as well as lays the basis for a future free-trade agreement between the United States and Africa as a whole (currently the only African country with a free-trade agreement with America is Morocco, which is increasingly emerging as a gateway for business on the continent).

Yet despite the broad bipartisan support — AGOA first passed under President Clinton and was renewed and extended three times under President George W. Bush — little has been done by the administration to push for what is easily the most significant framework for trade and investment between the United States and Africa. Thus, with the legislation set to expire in less than a year, the lack of certainty is negatively impacting the decision-making processes of American businesses with regard to commercial opportunities in Africa, where the United States has lost ground in recent years, not only to China, but to other emerging economic powers as well.

2. Fill vacancies at U.S. embassies in Africa and in other Africa-related positions. While the situation has improved a bit since the unconscionable backlog earlier this year, eight career Foreign Service nominees for ambassadorships in Africa — covering 10 countries — still await confirmation. Whatever the domestic political reasons for this state of affairs, the cumulative negative impact on the conduct of day-to-day U.S. foreign policy across the continent from having so many chief of mission positions vacant is palpable. Similarly, the lack of nominations to or confirmation of a number of other Africa-related positions at multilateral institutions and on various boards is definitely not in America’s interests. For example, the U.S. executive directorship at the African Development Bank has been vacant since the last Senate-confirmed incumbent left over a year ago; his successor’s name has sat on the upper chamber’s executive calendar since July.

3. Ensure that the military and other security resources committed to Africa are commensurate to the threats emanating from the continent. The growth and spread across Africa of militant Islamist groups, some with links to al Qaeda and even the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS); the continuing disintegration of Libya and the increasingly virulent Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria; the burgeoning incidents of maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea; the growth of organized crime and drug trafficking in West Africa — all of these and other challenges are major concerns, not only for the countries immediately affected, but also for the United States and its European partners. Yet the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), the geographic combatant command responsible for implementing whatever military operations are eventually deemed necessary, whether assisting African partners or taking direct action against terrorist leaders and groups, has never been properly resourced. Irrespective of what comes out of the continuing debate over the impact of ongoing sequestration — to say nothing of proposed cuts — to the Pentagon budget, there is general agreement that AFRICOM needs the basic tools to carry out its ordinary assigned mission, to say nothing of extraordinary challenges that have arisen in recent years.

4. Fund and robustly conduct the fight against the Ebola virus, both at home and in Africa. Obama has repeatedly asserted that the Ebola epidemic is a national security concern and McConnell described it last Wednesday as “the immediate concern in the health area.” The White House has submitted a $6.18 billion emergency appropriations request for funds to support both immediate response and containment efforts in Africa and enhance preparedness and speed testing of vaccines and therapies in America. While the specifics of the “comprehensive strategy” should be examined carefully, the overall objectives are certain to receive unanimous support. Additionally, now that the politicization of the campaign is past, a more dispassionate examination of best practices — including lessons learned from effective African efforts — should be undertaken.

5. Continue support for the rule of law and democracy in Africa. In his speech to Ghana’s parliament during his first year in office, Obama declared that “Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.” Building strong institutions, supporting human rights and the rule of law, and challenging leaders who threaten democratic processes are policies that can enjoy broad bipartisan support. For example, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s President Joseph Kabila is notoriously seeking a way around that country’s clear constitutional ban not only on a third consecutive term as president, but its prohibition with any tinkering with term limits. The Obama administration — from Secretary of State John Kerry through Special Envoy Russ Feingold to Ambassador James Swan — have all been clear in their warnings against the Congolese leader’s ambitions, but so has House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.), who has repeatedly singled Kabila out for seeking to create an “imperial, indefinite” presidency.

But funding for a U.S. role in consolidating democratization in Africa — especially for programs that focus on transparency of elections and support peaceful transfers of power — is woefully lacking. For example, Nigeria is due to have presidential, parliamentary and state elections in February 2015. Yet, unlike others polls in the West African country since the restoration of democracy in 1999, the U.S. government currently has no funds allocated for any independent election observers from organizations like the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute, a mistake that should be corrected given the irregularities that plagued previous polls and the importance of the upcoming vote for the stability and direction of Africa’s largest economy and most populous country.

The “U.S. Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa,” released in 2012, proclaimed that “as we look toward the future, it is clear that Africa is more important than ever to the security and prosperity of the international community, and to the United States in particular.” For this strategic reason, as well as for the tactical opportunity which, in the context of Washington’s newly changed political landscape, the forging of at least one bipartisan consensus on foreign policy presents for breaking through, however partially, the prevailing gridlock, it would behoove both the president and Republican leaders to put Africa among their priorities.

Pham is director of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center.