Africa's time has come - Mandela's powerful message

As people begin to line up in movie theaters to visit galaxies far, far away in the final chapter of Star Wars, Nelson Mandela comes to America to remind us of a continent right here on earth, just on the other side of the Atlantic.

Often neglected and marginalized, Africa is the only region in the world no better off than it was 25 years ago. A fifth of all Africans live in countries burdened by war, 44 million African children do not go to school, millions of Africans die as a result of disease or conflict, and Africa risks being left even further behind as economic stagnation spreads.

Tragic as they are, these statistics are not new. For decades, the world has faced the harsh consequences of its benign neglect of Africa, and done nothing. Mandela in all his glory has come to the United States this month to tell us that "Africa's time has come." Now is the time for bold actions to end the system of global apartheid separating haves and have-nots, with many of those have-nots discriminated by race and geography, in the African world.

The first and most critical step is debt cancellation

Debt has become the burning tire necklacing the African continent. The UN Conference on Trade and Development, in a comprehensive report on debt sustainability, noted that between 1970 and 2002, sub-Saharan Africa received $294 billion in disbursements, paid out $268 billion in debt service and yet remained straddled with a debt stock of some $210 billion. There is a reverse transfer of resources from the world's poorest to wealthy bankers and their surrogates in the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The biggest burden of this debt is borne by women and children, as cash-strapped African governments close schools and health centers in service of the ever-spiraling obligations.

The Bush administration has a rare opportunity to join the growing momentum for debt cancellation. Proposals are squarely on the table from allies in the U.K. and Germany. Even the IMF has acknowledged the feasibility of sales of IMF gold to finance debt cancellation. However, U.S. Treasury Secretary, John Snow, questions the value of debt cancellation. The Bush team cannot be so far out of step when so many lives hang in the balance. The bold action needed? Cancel Africa's debt-100%, in all low and middle income African countries, with no harmful conditions attached.

The second step is changing international trade rules

It's ironic that free-trader conservatives in the United States are reluctant to see the heavy hand that this nation plays in its trade policies. African farmers can't compete against the heavily subsidized U.S. agro-business industries. Cotton farmers in Mali are unable to generate any income as U.S. farmers dump their products on African markets. Bold action? This one is easy S end the dumping, promote regional trade, and create trading practices and policies that prioritize food production and local consumption.

The third step is appropriate and effective development assistance

U.S. foreign assistance is laced with hidden barriers to development. According to the Organization for Cooperation and Development in Europe (OECD) club of donors, seventy cents out of every dollar of U.S. foreign assistance is spent on U.S. goods and services. How can foreign assistance support development if so little of it actually reaches its intended beneficiaries? What's needed is a revamped system that unleashes real resources to address Africa's priorities. In response to calls for a greater effectiveness, the Bush administration created the ill-named Millennium Challenge account (MCA).

Three years later, instead of meeting the millennium's challenge of ending poverty, the MCA just dribbled out its first grant, establishing a check-cashing scheme in Madagascar that may one day benefit U.S. businesses. This façade of "development" must end. Africa must be free to choose her own path to development. And scarce development assistance dollars needed desperately for education and healthcare must actually reach the continent to benefit its people.

The fourth step is ending U.S. militarism in Africa

According to a March report from the World Policy Institute, all the major U.S. military aid and sales programs to Africa have increased sharply in recent years, though that spending remains just a tiny fraction of what the nation spends on such assistance for the Middle East. Funding to sub-Saharan Africa under the largest program, Foreign Military Financing, doubled from $12 million in 2000 to a proposed $24 million in FY 2006.

Making military force a higher priority than development and diplomacy creates an imbalance that can encourage irresponsible regimes to use U.S. sourced military hardware to oppress their own people. It doesn't foster democracy. Under the Bush administration, the National Rifle Association (NRA) has been a full member of U.S. official delegations to UN conferences on small arms trafficking. The NRA and the gun manufacturers have successfully crafted U.S. foreign policy so that profits are placed over people. The United States has thwarted efforts to ban the sale and use of small arms, even in zones of conflict. This dumping of weapons on the African continent contributes to the chaos and must be stopped.

The fifth and final step is affirming Africa's resource rights

Ninety percent of all U.S. engagement with Africa is in the extractive industries-oil, mining, timber, and minerals. Countries like Nigeria are perhaps the most egregious. In spite of the rich oil flowing onshore and off, the average Nigerian has the same standard of living as his or her grandparents did in 1960, before any oil was drilled. Firestone in Liberia signed 99-year leases to extract rubber for 3 cents per hectare. This rape of Africa is unconscionable. Africa's resources must benefit its own people. Demands of accountability, transparency, and ethics must be made not only on African governments but also on U.S. companies.

Mandela's personal sacrifice inspired the democratic movement that brought down Apartheid. He represents all that is good about Africa and he is right to say that Africa's time has come. Now is the time to end the forces of global economic apartheid. Let's hope his message has the same longevity and media saturation as the Star Wars epic.