US President Joe Biden
Image: Roberto Schmidt / AFP
Political analysts have criticised the outgoing US President Joe Biden’s administration for not using his influence to stop the plundering of African resources.
While the Biden administration issued statements beating their drums reflecting on their mandates, political analysts in South Africa felt that Biden’s administration did very little to stop foreign companies from plundering the resources of the African continent, which has struggled to break the chains of poverty.
As the Biden government continued to focus mainly on wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the US appeared to struggle to assert its influence and stop the spread of anti-West coups from Guinea in the west to Sudan in the east of the continent, with Niger’s generals telling America to close down its base, from which it gathered intelligence in the war against terrorism.
Independent Political Analyst Dr Metji Makgoba felt that Biden’s foreign policy failed in all aspects.
“The American foreign policies are imperialist and see African states as a fertile ground for looting. African countries are divided, and the West has used this divide to exploit individual countries strategically while ensuring they disrupt its possible formation of unity.”
He added: “Biden is known for advancing progressive and liberal politics of inclusion. He represents values of white supremacy, which still perpetuates the oppression of the continent. While he also spoke passionately about respecting the sovereignty of African states, he did not walk the talk because the US is about imperialism.
“Biden, as an individual, does not have the political agency to undo America’s misadventures in the world. The US has continued to entrench its imperialist domination on the continent.
“The US's relationships with African countries are unchanging and have always been about promoting political interference in the governance of the African State,” said Makgoba.
He argued that the US uses the economic, military, and democratic institutions to drive its global agenda, which some leaders described as being hostile to African countries.
Political analyst Professor Dirk Kotze stated that the Biden administration has played a minimal role in Africa, arguing that it has not introduced any specific policies focused on the continent.
He believes that the US is primarily focused on peace missions.
“Africa is not viewed as one of the main priorities. The US is not involved in any military exercises on the African continent; in the past, it participated in peacekeeping missions in Libya and Somalia through NATO. Additionally, South Africa benefits from various US funds, including those for HIV/AIDS,” he said.
Kotze also mentioned that the US is engaged in peacekeeping missions in Latin America and pointed out that African countries continue to be heavily influenced by the French government.
In 2023, the government of Niger, a military junta that overthrew the government, demanded that the US remove its military presence with 1,100 Army and Air Force personnel stationed at a $110 million base built eight years ago; a decision supported by many through participation in protests in Niger's capital, Niamey.
The State Department provocatively declared the change in government a "coup" under US policy which required the full suspension of all US military operations in the country and also affirmed that its highest objective is the restoration of Niger's democratic government. This exercise has not yielded results yet.
Following this, Biden said the decision to leave was final, and the withdrawal would be faithfully carried out.
Shortly after that, the neighbouring Chad demanded that a significant deployment of US forces in that country also leave and threatened to cancel a standing agreement governing US deployments there.
The present governing junta also expelled the French deployment of about 1,500 troops, as well as the French ambassador, citing France's colonial past in the country.
French forces and diplomatic representatives in Mali and Burkina Faso were also expelled in recent years.
IOL Politics