Future of Africa aid policy worries Bush ahead of visit
WASHINGTON, 14 February: US President George W. Bushs trip to Africa, starting Friday, is motivated in part by fears inside his administration that the billions of dollars in aid to the continent, and a new approach to how it is disbursed (fordelt), will not be continued by the next president, top White House officials say.
In what some are calling a “victory lap,” Mr. Bushs trip will highlight the effect over the past five years of the 1,2 billion dollar the US has sent to fight malaria and the 15 billion dollar to fight HIV/AIDS, which the president wants to double over the next five years.
But the Bush administration also wants to “shine a light” on what they regard as a transforming shift in how foreign aid is distributed, from throwing money at a problem to “performance-based” monetary aid.
They hope the next president continues debt relief efforts and Mr. Bushs Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), which requires countries to take steps toward the rule of law to receive aid for things like infrastructure.
– A lot of us are stressing out about what is going to happen eight months, nine months from now, said Bobby Pittman, the presidents senior director for African affairs, adding: – There is a question of continuation.
– The main focus of the trip is to highlight these policies … and really try to build US domestic support for the programs, noted Mr. Pittman, who helped in 2005 to negotiate the plan to forgive 100 percent of debt in some of Africas poorest countries.
Mr. Bush will travel to Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia, in that order. He returns to Washington next Thursday.
Kilde: The Push Journal
