Obama in Ghana: Is it Just About Oil?
When President Obama was elected, people around the world celebrated, especially in Africa. During his first trip to the plateau continent, Obama has been greeted with much fanfare and love, but some are calling into question his motivation for visiting Ghana.
Perhaps it is from eight years of the Bush Administration that have made us suspicious of our president’s oil motivations, but Ghana’s new offshore oil boom may give good cause for doubt.
While in Africa, Obama stated:
One of the principles that I want to bring to the US/Africa relationship is that economic development in Africa is not just going to be based on dribbles of foreign aid, but rather on how do we build capacity within Africa…We want to, wherever we can, provide the kinds of access to the US global markets that can really make a difference.
Are the global markets related to oil? The President further explained his reason for chosing Ghana to visit because of the “tremendous work they’ve done in developing a functioning democracy”. Hmm, promoting democracy in an oil rich country; haven’t we heard that before? According to Voice of America:
With more than 600 million barrels of proven reserves, the International Monetary Fund says oil and natural gas from Ghana’s first off-shore field could bring the country as much as $20 billion by 2030.
Currently, the US obtains 15 percent of its oil from Africa, but the government aims to increase this amount to 25 percent in the next five years. Ghana may offer a more reliable and less corrupt source of African oil than the Niger River Delta. The Globe and Mail reports:
Behind all the inspirational words and “Yes we can” sound bites of Barack Obama’s first presidential visit to sub-Saharan Africa, questions are lingering about two key issues that formed a tacit subtext to his visit: oil and military bases.
Mr. Obama’s visit on the weekend to Ghana, so early in his presidential term, is the latest sign of Africa’s mounting strategic importance to Washington.
Obama did caution Ghana during his visit that the country should not rely solely on oil for its exports. The President warned, “Oil cannot simply become the new cocoa.” I prefer chocolate to oil.
Image: Monde Perso on Flickr under a Creative Commons License
Jennifer, somewhere there is a village which truly needs you!