US Pledges N8.4bn For 2015 Polls …Firm To Invest $14bn In Nigeria, Others

The United States Government, yesterday, said it would provide $51million (about N8.4billion) to support credible elections in Nigeria in 2015 and other electoral process in the country in the next five years.
This is contained in the ”Fact Sheet” issued by the White House in Washington DC, which highlighted US support for democratic institutions, good governance and human rights in Africa.
The Tide learnt that the publication was released just as the US-Africa Leaders Summit being attended by 50 leaders from the continent, including President Goodluck Jonathan, began in Washington DC.
The publication stated that the US was working with other donors to support Nigeria’s electoral management bodies and strengthen the ability of the country’s civil society to promote electoral reforms.
According to it, part of the funds will be used to expand voter education and monitor electoral processes in the run-up to the 2015 elections.
The US Government also announced that it had launched “Making All Voices Count,” a programme aimed at supporting innovation and research that would empower citizens in some countries to engage with government.
“The project is being executed in partnership with other governments and private foundations.
“The partnership with the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Omidyar Network, and the Open Society Foundations, is providing $55million globally in support and in capacity building from 2013 through 2017,” it stated.
It said that the first round of grants on the programme, totalling $2.5million had been announced and would benefit African countries, including Nigeria, South Africa, Liberia and Ghana.
Meanwhile, some United States companies are planning $14billion worth of investments in Africa, a White House official said yesterday as the US-Africa Leaders Summit turned its focus to boosting commercial ties.
President Barack Obama is to announce the investment projects later in the day as he addresses some 45 heads of state and government from the African continent invited to Washington for the historic gathering.
The first day of the summit, the largest such meeting ever held in the US capital, saw American officials chiding their guests over democratic reform and civil rights.
But now Obama and titans of US commerce and industry will try to convince their counterparts that America is as determined to take part in Africa’s growth story as China or Europe.
Hundreds of US and African business chiefs will join the political leaders in forums, including the top executives of General Electric, Coca-Cola and Walmart, and African tycoons such as Aliko Dangote, Mo Ibrahim and Ashish Thakkar, the young founder of the tech-focused Mara Group.
Secretary of State John Kerry was straightforward about Washington’s aims, saying “I say unabashedly: We want and we will work hard to get more American companies to invest in Africa.”
Kerry said Monday, that “We also want more African companies to invest here in the United States, and there’s no reason that they shouldn’t.”
Amid African criticism that American businesses are less knowledgeable and more afraid of risks on the continent than European and Asian rivals, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said the US government would boost efforts to build commercial ties.
“The time to do business in Africa is no longer five years away. The time to do business is now.”
Pritzker stressed that building trade and investments with Africa would be good for both sides, helping African countries develop and creating jobs in the United States.
“As Africa’s middle class continues to expand, we hope to see our export numbers grow,” she said.
The United States remains the largest source of investment on the continent, but most of that has been in the oil and gas sector.
However, China and Europe have built stronger positions in infrastructure, manufacturing and trade, with China’s trade with Africa more than double that of the United States.
A White House official said the new investments being announced will span a range of industries, including construction, clean energy, banking and information technology.
Stephen Hayes of the Corporate Council on Africa, a US business group, said Tuesday’s private sector meetings could get US companies more interested in the continent.
“From the standpoint of the US, we need CEOs to be more engaged,” he said.
“For America to be able to compete for the long term, with China and others, they are going to require partnerships.”