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ACCRA, Ghana — Vice President Harris on Monday began a week-long tour of Africa by announcing plans by the United States to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the continent, but she battled the perception that Africa was simply America’s newest arena to play geopolitical chess with China and Russia.
Harris told reporters she raised these concerns from some African leaders with Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, assuring him that the Biden administration is sincere in its desire to boost economic development and strengthen ties in Ghana — and with Tanzania and Zambia, where Harris travels next.
America’s interest in Ghana is not a case of global giants elbowing each other for position, she said. “The relationship between the United States and this continent and African leaders is important,” Harris said. “There is a historical basis for this relationship – not to mention that we are looking ahead, as all governments should be, and acknowledging the unmatched opportunities that lie ahead.”
Still, the White House has made little secret of its concern that China is aggressively expanding its military, economic and social influence around the world, forcing the United States to respond. While numerous Biden officials are visiting Africa this year, the United States is in some ways catching up, as Beijing has forged numerous connections on the continent and helped fund numerous roads, ports and other projects in recent years.
Harris makes his way to Africa amid Biden’s courtship of the continent
Harris is the most senior Biden administration official to come to Africa as the White House seeks to rebuild ties after the administration of former President Donald Trump, who never visited the continent and mocked his nations with a vulgar epithet revitalize Five of Biden’s cabinet secretaries have visited Africa, including Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
First Lady Jill Biden crossed the Atlantic last month and President Biden has said he will be there later this year. The United States also hosted a US-Africa leadership summit in December, at which Harris met with several heads of state.
At that summit, Biden announced a $55 billion commitment to the continent over the next three years. He also announced his support for the African Union, which represents 55 countries, to become a permanent member of the Group of 20, a long-awaited prize on the continent.
On Monday, Harris announced the government plans to allocate $139 million in bilateral aid to Ghana in fiscal 2024, although that proposal requires Congressional approval, amid sharp disagreements between the parties over spending and foreign aid could be a difficult question.
Separately, Harris said the government will also seek more than $100 million in regional conflict prevention funding for Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire and Togo to help nations address regional security, governance and development issues .
The vice president also announced US support for programs aimed at reducing child labor, improving weather forecasts, supporting local musicians and defending against disease outbreaks.
Harris urged foreign lenders to restructure Ghana’s debt, a far-reaching problem that has engulfed many countries across Africa. Both Ghana and Zambia are mired in debt crises, fueled in part by soaring prices for food and other commodities during the coronavirus pandemic. The US Treasury Department plans to send a full-time adviser to Ghana to help its Treasury Department develop a debt plan.
Akufo-Addo said his nation needs patience from lenders as it gets “back on track” with its debt repayments. He expressed his gratitude for the US investment but stressed that the Ghanaian leadership does not face a choice between the US and China.
“There may be an obsession in America with Chinese activities on the continent, but there is no such obsession here,” Akufo-Addo told reporters. “China is one of the many countries that Ghana works with. All countries in the world are friends of Ghana and we have relationships of varying intensity.”
The US-Ghana link, he said, “is a relationship that has its own dynamic. It has nothing to do with any other country.”
The Ghanaian President expressed concern about the presence of troops from the Russian mercenary force Wagner in the region. Wagner, which has also deployed troops to fight Ukraine, has begun operating in Mali and African leaders fear it will soon send personnel to Burkina Faso, which borders Ghana.
The United States has also sent troops to Africa to help countries train their armed forces.
This prompted Akkufo-Addo to express concern that the continent, repeating a role it has played for centuries, will begin to serve as a battleground for more powerful countries fighting for military and economic advantages.
“It raises the very real possibility of foreign influence in regional conflicts – and our continent once again becomes the playground for larger countries,” he said. “Because one group of people is coming, it’s not very difficult for another group of people to say, ‘Then let’s come in.’ And before you know it, the problems and concerns of ours [not] keeping our country and continent free from great power rivalry will be a reality.”
He added: “We want to be able to resolve our own security concerns ourselves, without foreign troops interfering.”
Harris said she chose Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia as destinations during her week-long trip because all three nations strive to uphold democracy despite the economic turmoil that has gripped Africa in the wake of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. She sees her visits as an opportunity to continue the dialogues she had with national leaders at the US-Africa Summit in Washington in December.
On Monday, Harris also visited Vibrate Space, a recording studio attached to a skateboard park, where she emphasized the importance of music’s cultural ties.
“To be able to come here on my first full day during this journey is really symbolic of the connection we have as people and as a nation,” she said. “The creative work that is taking place on this continent, as represented by the work in Ghana, is extraordinary.”
Harris – accompanied by several artists and musicians including Idris Elba and Sheryl Lee Ralph – praised Ghana’s efforts to reach out to members of the African diaspora, including a music festival that encouraged blacks from around the world to gather on their continent and to celebrate origin.
Harris and Akkufo-Addo also discussed the intermittent conflicts in northern Ghana and fears that Islamic State and al-Qaeda cells may be active there. “We spend many sleepless nights making sure we’re protected here,” Akkufo-Addo told the vice president ahead of their bilateral meeting.
While Monday was largely politically focused, the rest of the week could bring greater emotional resonance for the vice president. Harris will travel Tuesday to Cape Coast Castle, one of dozens of major forts built along Africa’s Gold Coast and once a hub for the transatlantic slave trade.
Both George W. Bush and Bill Clinton visited slave forts while in the White House, as did former President Barack Obama, the first black commander in chief. Harris, the first woman to win national elected office in the United States, is of Jamaican and Indian descent.
Harris’ last stop this week will be in Lusaka, Zambia, where her maternal grandfather worked as a civil engineer and where she visited as a child.
For his part, Akufo-Addo attempted to balance a message of welcome for US investment and compassion with claims that Ghana did not want to be pushed around by global powers.
“We’ve always felt that somehow we weren’t that strong in the private investment space in America. More and more American companies are interested in Ghana and we want that to be accepted,” he said during the press conference. “We look forward to using your visit as a springboard to renew and expand these relationships.”
But later, during a toast to friendship between the US and its historic vice president, he struck a more cautionary note.
“Great powers of any kind, even friendly ones, trampling on small nations is not something we welcome,” he said. “And in our humble ways we will express our disapproval of it.”