It is unwise to harp on about fairness when life is most unfair. US President Barack Obama pledged $7 billion in aid Sunday to provide electricity to sub-Saharan Africa, as he warned Africans to be wary of exploitation by other countries, including the US. Even though he did not mention China by name, many observers suspect he had Africa's largest trading partner in mind. “I'm calling for America to up our game when it comes to Africa,” Obama told an audience at the University of Cape Town. Fair enough. Africa requires deliberation, not haste. If there is a danger zone in Africa, it is the income inequality that plagues the continent. Obama must appreciate the prevailing quality of discourse in Africa. Nudging the continent along the path of democracy is meaningless without a proper sense of social justice. While it may be true that Obama would support further stimulus in economic growth in Africa, he has to acknowledge that the African world is demonstrably unfair. Obama's week-long tour of the continent is a landmark happening. The question now is whether Africa can use Obama's tour as a catalyst for effective action to address the difficulties that face the continent. America is one of Africa's most important trading partners and investors. Funds from the electricity initiative, dubbed Power Africa, will be distributed over the next five years to six countries, namely Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria and Tanzania. “We want to unleash the power of entrepreneurship and markets to create opportunity here in Africa,” Obama said. Optimists cite Africa's impressive economic growth rates as evidence of the continent's renaissance. “If somebody says they want to come build something here, are they hiring African workers? If somebody says that they want to help you develop your natural resources, how much of the money is staying in Africa? Don't just assume that folks come here and they're automatically benefiting Africans. And that includes the United States. Ask questions, in terms of what we do,” Obama added. The billionaire democracy gripping the African continent has made South Africa's democratic status in the continent look far-sighted. Obama visited Robben Island, the prison that held South Africa's aged and ailing former president Nelson Mandela after a five-minute helicopter flight from Cape Town on Marine One. They were accompanied by a press helicopter and a contingent of secret agents and security personnel. However, why did Obama not visit the shantytowns of Cape Town? The American president and First Lady paused at the prison's logbook in Robben Island. So what? The answer to this question may determine whether South Africa comes to be seen as a pioneer of democratic reform on the continent or one that fell prey to complacency and political inertia when Africa needed to be alert to a fast moving political situation. “One thing you guys might not be aware of is that the idea of political nonviolence first took root here in South Africa because Mahatma Gandhi was a lawyer here in South Africa before he returned to India,” Obama mused. Obama acknowledged the paramount importance of South Africa as a beacon of democracy, not only in Africa but also across the globe. “Here is where he did his first political [activism]. When he went back to India; the principles ultimately led to Indian independence, and what Gandhi did inspired Martin Luther King,” Obama extrapolated. “That's why I got involved in what was known as the divestment movement in the United States. It was the first time I ever attached myself to a cause,” Obama said. “I know now that something inside me was stirring at that time, something important,” he continued. “And that was the belief that I could be part of something bigger than myself; that my own salvation was bound up with that of others.” Affairs of state were not restricted to South Africa, however. Tanzania, for instance, has a reputation abroad of being an island of stability in the often-chaotic region of East Africa. Tanzanian democracy brought to the country's task great determination and an immense capacity for economic growth. The country has been rewarded with praise and funds from international donors, including the United States, which last year gave the country more than $48 million. Tanzania, the abode of Mount Kilimanjaro, is a popular tourist destination for safaris in the nature reserve of Serengeti. The nation has been lauded for its ethnic cohesion, rising above the kind of tribal violence that rocked Kenya after that country's elections in 2007. However, the country is prone to violence between the Muslim majority and the Christian minority. Confessional strife has escalated in recent years. A church bombing in May, in the northern city of Arusha nestled in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, raised concerns that religious tensions could escalate further. Traditionally, Tanzania has been relatively free of sectarian strife, a legacy of the country's founding father, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere. Nevertheless, President Obama flew Monday to Tanzania, a country where human rights groups and the largest opposition party say episodes of intimidation and suppression of political opponents are growing. Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete's participation in the Tanzanian political scene was always likely to stir the debate about democracy in Africa. He runs a country that has been, since independence from Britain in 1960, governed by a single party. What lessons does the Tanzanian story hold for the African continent? The political violence in Tanzania reached a new, unexpected level last month, when a hand grenade was thrown at a rally organised by Chadema, the country's main opposition party, in the northern city of Arusha, killing four people. No suspect has been identified, and investigations are ongoing. “The international community believes there is peace in Tanzania,” said Willibrod Slaa, the secretary-general of Chadema. “There is fear, not peace.” It is not Obama's business to deal with the domestic concerns of African nations. Yet it is a matter of conjecture whether he does pay heed to the pace of democracy in African nations. “It is intimidation,” Slaa said alluding to the political violence in his country. “The people will be afraid to go to the polling stations, and the active ones will have been eliminated.” Chadema officials have publicly claimed that the man responsible was either working with, or protected by, the police. They say the party will produce videotape proving their charge, but only after an independent commission has been named to investigate. Last, but not least, from Tanzania Obama issued a statement regarding political developments in Egypt, urging President Mohamed Morsi to create a “responsive and truly representative” government and to “reach out to the opposition and work through issues in a political process”. Whether he will and whether he can are questions relevant not only to Egypt, but also political leaderships across the continent.
