Here is a to-do list for President Barack Obama’s Africa trip

Over the next decade, more than $1 trillion
in natural resources will be extracted from
the African continent. Currently, Africa
exports more than $300 billion a year in
oil, gas and mineral exports—more than
four times the amount of aid the continent
receives. But that money is not building
roads, schools and hospitals for Africa’s
people. In fact, booming extractives
industries often lead to more poverty.
The people of Kedougou, Senegal, for
instance, live atop a large scale gold-mining
operation. Despite the riches found in their
soil, none of it has been returned to their
community. Many have lost access to the
agricultural land that sustained their
families, and many others did not even
receive adequate compensation when they
were forced off their lands without
consultation.
President Obama got it right four years ago
when he said Africa’s future lies with
Africa’s institutions. Now as he travels to
Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania, I hope
he will use the opportunity to shine a bright
light on the transparency and
accountability shortfalls that perpetuate
poverty and inequality on the continent.
Africa’s leaders need to be more open about
how they spend their budgets, and what
they do with fees and royalties from oil and
mining companies operating on their soil.
African citizens have a right to decide how
to put their countries’ resources to work for
their own futures. Let them claim their
rights and fight for their own development.
For his part, President Obama should lead
by example, and release US government aid
data. African citizens, as recipients of
American aid, have a right to know
whether this money is achieving real results
– as does the American public. As one of the
largest aid donors in the world, the United
States shouldn’t be one of the least
transparent.
On his last trip to Africa in 2009, Obama
urged Africans to take more leadership of
their own development. The US government
need not make this harder than it should
be. There’s enormous value in the power of
local people to decide how aid is spent, and
how to lead their own development efforts
in partnership with the US.
What Africa’s people want now is a fair
deal new deal that gets the continent’s
resources working for them. Support by
President Obama along this path will be
warmly welcomed.