Ebola won’t have effect on investment – USAID

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA 

Mr Earl Gast

The United States Aid agency (USAID) Assistant Administrator for Africa, Mr Earl Gast, has expressed optimism that the devastating effect of the Ebola crisis on Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, would not negatively impact on investment in Africa.

He said his belief stemmed from the fact that to date the disease had been prevented from spreading to other parts of the African continent, while there was no let on efforts to deal with the Ebola disease.

Mr Gast, who was one of two speakers in a telephone press conference held by the US State Department last recently, was also hopeful, that “over the coming months we will be able to get the Ebola crisis in hand.”

The teleconference was held to discuss the outcomes of the first ever US-Africa Leaders’ Summit held in August this year, including commitments and progress on trade and economic growth in Africa.

Mr Gast said that it was possible to keep the Ebola disease at bay, because President Barack Obama, had not only committed the civilian agencies to respond to the Ebola threat but also the US’s department of defence, which has huge capabilities in terms of logistics and immediate response capacity.

“Africa is a huge continent but the distance from Monrovia to Nairobi is about the same from Seattle, Washington to Miami, Florida so the distance is huge.

“It doesn’t mean that the plague can’t or won’t move out of West Africa, but to date it has been contained largely in the three countries that are directly affected. So I think people are concerned about Ebola and certainly in the three countries where it exists it is having an effect on the economies and that is something that we are committed to,” he stated.

Mr Gast added that the US government had been trying to immediately respond and assist the three economies after Ebola had been contained or even while it was in the process of being contained.

“So investment continues in Africa. I don’t see it having an immediate effect on investment.”

Activating outcomes

On how outcomes of the summit would be activated and not remain paper work, Mr Gast referred to President Obama’s announcement of an improved (African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) legislation as a cornerstone or strategy for economic growth in Africa.

He also cited the commitment of over $26 billion to the Power Africa project, a US government investment, to mitigate risks of the private sector. This, he said, meant a partnership amongst governments to create the conditions for private investments to take place.

Mr Gast also said there had been regular meetings at key events “to make sure that the commitments that we are all making, whether it is the government on policy reforms, whether it is the donors coming with timely disbursements or the private sector, that all are taking place at the agreed time.

He said there was also an ongoing process to create an African Private Capital Group.

Ms Florizelle Liser

The second speaker, Ms Florizelle Liser, Assistant Trade Representative for Africa, said prior to the meeting with President Obama, African Heads of State, and business leaders held a business summit, where joint ventures and commitments made totalled some $33 billion. 

AGOA

She said President Obama recognised the importance of a long term AGOA and had therefore pledged to increase utilisation by African countries.

Ms Liser also said that while her outfit was working with the US congress on securing a renewal of the AGOA programme which expires in September 2015, the US administration had made a number of proposals to modernise it.

This includes increasing coverage, simplifying the rules of origin and also looking at some of the eligibility criteria in the review process to make some changes there.

“In order to unlock its true potential we need to do a lot more than focus on our preferences. And that is why in our view AGOA has to be a broader, comprehensive trade investment strategy - One that helps Africans to build the capacity to trade regionally as well as globally,” she said.

According to Ms Liser, in all there would seven trade missions that the US’s department of commerce would be leading in the next 18 months to two years.

Answering a question from the Daily Graphic on the major breakthroughs of the summit and how they were going to improve trade relations between the US and Africa, she said the parties agreed on a timely and continuous renewal of the AGOA.

They also settled on the need for a trade capacity building for Africa, in order for them to become more productive and competitive, not only in global trade but regional as well.

The importance of value added production, the need for industrialisation in Africa, issues on housing, peace and security, investing in the youth and future of Africa were all areas that various outcomes were arrived at, she said.

Writer’s email: Edmund.Asante@graphic.com.gh

FACTS

·         As part of actions from the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit, an East Africa Trade Investment Hub was launched on Wednesday, September 17, 2014.

·         The US-Africa Leaders’ Summit held in August 2014 was the largest event any US President has ever held with African heads of state and government.

·         Prior to the summit was a summit for Young African Leaders, during which the US announced that it would establish Regional Leadership Centres to support Africa’s next generation of business, government and community leaders.