Senator Coons leads hearing on entrenched African leaders

As Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, Senator Coons today convened a hearing to examine U.S. policy in response to entrenched African leaders.

In his opening statement, Chris said that African leaders who stay in power for decades, some by manipulating their country’s constitution or governing institutions “challenge U.S. values and objectives, including the promotion of democracy, transparency, and rule of law.  It contributes to corruption, economic stagnation, a lack of accountability, and an inability of the government to effectively represent and respond to the needs of the people.  It threatens to hamper the vast potential of sub-Saharan Africa, and must therefore be addressed and ultimately, reversed.”      

The hearing featured testimony from Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson, USAID Assistant Administrator for Africa Earl Gast and the National Democratic Institute’s Regional Director for Central and West Africa Dr. Christopher Fomunyoh.

In addition, the committee heard testimony from Dr. Mo Ibrahim, an advocate for responsible governance in Africa whose foundation awards an annual cash prize of $5 million to democratically elected African leaders who demonstrate excellence in office and peacefully step down from power. Chris had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Ibrahim prior to the hearing.