Basu Sangqu considers meeting former South African President, Nelson Mandela, one of the most exciting days of his life.  Another highlight occurred less than two years later when, just before Christmas 2002, his government appointed Basu as South Africa’s first Ambassador to the newly established African Union, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.   Basu credits both life-changing occasions in large part to USAID’s sponsorship of his advanced economics training.

He earned his Masters Degree in Economics at Vanderbilt University in 1999 as part of USAID’s Mandela Economic Scholars program.  The famous Mandela noted his country’s severe shortage of black economists and urged the 70 participants in the program named after him to “do our country proud, because you are opening the way for many other students who hope to follow in your footsteps”.  Apartheid withheld a decent education at all levels from the majority of South Africans, keeping millions shackled in every sphere of life.  This flagrant discrimination prompted USAID’s first support for the troubled country in the 1980s.  The Agency financed scholarships in the USA for select South Africans not eligible by race for studying certain fields within their own country.   Education continues to be a top priority for USAID in South Africa and scholarships continue both domestically and overseas.

Basu studied engineering in the 1980s and was active in student affairs and the banned African National Congress (ANC).  He was arrested in 1986 and spent considerable time in jail.  Once released, Basu became more active in politics and the ANC, returning to school at the University of the Transkei to earn a Bachelor of Commerce degree in the marginally independent former homeland.  After South Africa’s liberation in the 1994 democratic elections, Basu worked at the National Department of Education in Pretoria as a Chief Education Specialist when he was selected for USAID’s Mandela Scholars Program.  After earning his Masters in Economics at Vanderbilt University, Basu was placed by the program as an intern in the Office of the Presidency, working with the Economic Advisor to the President (who also participated with USAID/Economics Training).  Basu then moved to South Africa’s Department of Foreign Affairs and worked on trade and investment issues for the country and region.  Basu says, “My responsibilities at the African Union will include work on the economic commission for Africa and management issues.”  He will also be in charge of promoting South Africa’s foreign policy agenda.  Born in 1968, Basu is South Africa’s youngest Ambassador.

USAID’s Mandela Economic Scholars Program has trained more than 70 black South Africans at the Masters or Ph.D. level in the U.S. with another 40 being trained in South Africa each year.  Returning scholars are placed in a good job that uses their economics skills.  Many, like Ambassador Sangqu, have moved rapidly up the corporate ladder, earning a wider berth to apply their abilities.  USAID economist, Neal Cohen, says, “Basu epitomizes the quality, drive and determination of these economic scholars who are becoming South Africa’s leaders.”