Africa At Crossroads After $13 Billion US Aid Cut, Say Analysts

JOHANNESBURG—African countries reacted with shock when the U.S. government recently cut $13 billion in financial assistance.
But analysts said the move could spur those countries toward better governance, and even critics said it shines a spotlight on the most corrupt nations on the planet.
The United Nations has suggested that millions of lives are at stake because of the withdrawal of U.S. aid.
But Chris Maroleng, of the nonprofit Good Governance Africa, told The Epoch Times that President Donald Trump’s decision to pause funding “shines a bright spotlight on the corruption and selfishness of many African regimes.”
The continent “cannot afford to wallow in self-pity and anger” at the Trump administration, he said.
“What’s most needed in Africa is not a big check, but an honest, hard look at the allocation and use of resources,” Gondyi told The Epoch Times.
“More efficient government revenue collection, stopping corruption and other financial crimes that are so rife in Africa, and broadening tax bases, are just some of the things that must now happen.”
Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index measures and analyzes graft in 180 countries.
According to its 2024 index, almost half of the 40 most corrupt countries are in sub-Saharan Africa, the poorest region in the world, and one that for decades has received the most U.S. aid.
It rates 90 percent of Africa’s 54 nations as “highly corrupt.”
In 2023, all but one—Eritrea—received U.S. financial assistance.

 
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