Past their sell-by-date, African dictators are getting a chance at respectability and creature comforts, thanks to former government officials, and ex-diplomats, turned savvy PR mercenaries.

African strongmen and their hatchet men have realised that they have a fighting chance of holding onto power, by simply spending billions on aid and other scarce state resources, to hire the services of the best lobbyists money can buy in influential western capitals. As hired-hands, lobbyists and PR agents make their fortunes by burnishing the images of these dictatorships and advancing their undemocratic interests against those of their own countries.

For example, Ms Jendayi Frazer, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, who was Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs under President George W. Bush, has become a consummate PR mercenary for the autocratic regime of Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. In her Op-ed in ‘The Wall Street Journal’ “Four Ways to Help Africa”, she urged the White House to move beyond rhetoric and deepen Washington’s engagement with African leaders, along the lines espoused by the former Bush White House Administration (see ‘Wall Street Journal’ August 25, 2009).

Ms Frazer declared that: “U.S. policy in Africa is not about love. It’s about advancing America’s core interests: promoting economic growth and development, combating terrorism, and fostering well-governed, stable countries.”

“Mr Obama needs to spend more time meeting and engaging African leaders to address the continent’s challenges.” 

She also argued that Bush had helped reduce “interstate wars” between Uganda, Rwanda and DRC by holding bilateral and tri-lateral meetings.

“Now Mr Obama needs to galvanise US efforts to end the militia violence of Rwandan and Ugandan rebel groups still operating in the Congo,” she wrote. Frazer’s article was crafted to help advance specific interests of African governments like Uganda. This is because Frazer is now a lobbyist.

Since they were booted out of the White House, Frazer has taken up a position as a “strategic advisor” to Rosa Whitaker of the Whitaker Group, contracted to look after Yoweri Museveni’s interests in Washington. According to reliable sources, the Ministry of Finance recently signed a contract for “International Presidential Advisory Services in the political, social and economic fields” with the group for Shs 2 billion, about one million dollars.

Although there are distinct limits to what they can achieve, lobbyists remain the undemocratic, unofficial means through which pariah regimes advance their interests in Washington.

The US State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs Report released in August 2009 by the Department’s Office of the Inspector General cited Frazer’s incompetence and mismanagement as one of the many problems that plagued that office.  (See: SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED OIG Report No. ISP-I-09-63, Inspection of the Bureau of African Affairs - August 2009)

To think that as a lecturer Frazer is polluting the minds of America’s future policy makers with her vindictive demeanour coupled with her total lack of knowledge about Africa and its people is a wonder to behold.

Frazer epitomizes the general sheer incompetence of the Bush administration. She exhibits poor policy assessment skills and also lacks diplomatic etiquette. So how can she discuss US foreign policy in Africa and fail to mention the tectonic shift in policy emphasis after 9/11, from focus on ‘promotion of democracy’ towards focus on the “war on terrorism”; better still “security and counter-terrorism”.

This is what ultimately affected Africa’s move towards eradicating dictatorship. And its why 5.7 million people perished in eastern DR Congo, 350,000 perished in Darfur, and over 600,000 perished in northern Uganda. This is why constitutions are changed and elections rigged at will.

Indeed the only serious chance that the region ever had of ending war with the LRA was destroyed by Ms Frazer.  This was disclosed in an interview given to Aljazeera recently by the vice-president of Southern Sudan, Dr Riek Machar, who said that “Museveni and Kabila were pressurised into Operation Lightning Thunder by the US through Jendayi Frazer.” The end result is that thousands continue to die and suffer needlessly.

The hallmark of Bush’s presidency was disdain for technocratic competence and prudence. Whether because of politics or ideology or mere incuriosity, little attention was paid to conventional professional expertise. There was complete lack of policy apparatus in Capitol Hill thanks to amateurism, irresponsibility and corruption than substantive policy choices made by Ms Frazer and her staff.

Barack Obama on the other hand, is characterised above all by disciplined intelligence. From his painstaking organisation during the primaries, to his selection and management of highly capable subordinates, to his sobriety and judiciousness throughout, he displayed precisely the qualities the Bush administration had lacked. Like no other American president before him, Obama knows more about Africa than what the Frazers of this world take him for.

In his Ghana Africa Policy speech, President Obama pledged support for those African countries that showed commitment to the rule of law and democratic practice. Countries that demonstrated the fundamentals of good governance – defined in the policy as stability and leadership accountability – would also be supported by the US government. African governments that are successful in these directions will be supported with better trade opportunities, given help in strengthening their internal development capacity and engaged in stronger bilateral and multilateral relations.

Obama emphasised the need for Africans themselves to take charge of Africa, and his desire to reconfigure America’s approach to Africa, changing it from that of a “patron” to a partner.

However, given that the continent is wobbling with the combined colossal weight of poverty, civil wars, genocide, famine,  the scourge of HIV/AIDS, religious extremism, economic mismanagement, rapid population growth, and a dearth of benign, democratic leadership, Ms Frazer’s future prospects are rosy. After all, murder and mayhem are good for business. So, too, is a lack of conscience.

Mr Olara is a human rights advocate. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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