The Pan Afrikanist Watchman

America’s Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Ambassador Victoria Nuland this week Tuesday made a stopover in Botswana during her whirlwind tour of four African countries.

The visit to South Africa, Botswana, Tanzania, and Niger, from July 31 to August 6 is seen in diplomatic circles as the USA’s attempt to dilute Chinese dominance in Africa.

In Botswana for example, China has not only shared her pandemic management response with local health authorities but has gone as far as to donate personal protective equipment, such as gloves, surgical masks, as well as donated 200, 000 doses of Sinovac vaccine.

America on the other hand has not lent a helping hand to Botswana, despite the cordial relations that subsist between the two nations. However, the U.S. has donated 5, 6 million doses of the Covid vaccine to South Africa.

Ambassador Nuland’s visit presented President Dr. Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi an opportunity to reach out and appeal to his US counterpart, President Joseph Biden to assist Botswana with COVID 19 vaccines.

Extremely worried at the slow pace of vaccines’ delivery, Masisi intimated to Ambassador Nuland that the assistance can either be through the sale of excess vaccines that the USA has or in the form of a donation.

Ambassador Nuland is the first high-level official in Joseph Biden’s administration to visit Botswana. Masisi expressed frustration with vaccine distribution and regretted that it has resulted in the loss of lives.

The death toll in Botswana is approaching 2, 000. Masisi said Botswana has put many development projects on hold and channeled money towards the fight against COVID 19 which includes payment of vaccines.

So far, according to Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. Edwin Dikoloti in a brief to Parliament this week, the government has spent some USD 19, 234, 882 on vaccine procurement from various platforms that include COVAXX and AVAT facilities as well as directly from manufacturers.

President Masisi, who is also Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Defense, Politics and Security, also used the opportunity to brief the US official about the security situation in Mozambique, where a SADC Standby Force was recently deployed to combat threats of terrorism and extremism in Cabo Delgado Province.

The two leaders also discussed SADC’s diplomatic response to the crisis in ESwatini as well as the state of democracy in the world and relations between Botswana and the United States of America.

For her part, Ambassador Nuland, who was sworn in as Inder Secretary for Political Affairs in April 2021, praised Botswana for being an example of democracy, leadership, and stability in Africa.

She conveyed the admiration that President Biden’s administration has for Masisi’s leadership both on the home front and in the region, adding that her Government takes note of these efforts, especially SADC’s work in Mozambique.

Ambassador Nuland, a U.S. diplomat for 32 years, assured Masisi that Biden is fostering relations with Africa and that his government is committed to helping Botswana.

In South Africa, Nuland met with senior South African officials and co-chaired the Working Group on African and Global Issues to advance shared priorities. She also welcomed the United States’ donation of 5.66 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to South Africa and met with civil society and business leaders.

In Tanzania, the Under Secretary will meet with President Samia Suluhu Hassan and hold a roundtable with opposition leaders. Her discussions will focus on strengthening democracy, combating COVID-19, and enhancing security and prosperity, while she will meet with President Mohamed Bazoum in Niger to discuss ways to improve security in the Sahel, strengthen governance, and advance inclusive economic growth.

 Nuland has served as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs from September 2013 until January 2017 under President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry.

According to her bio, she was State Department spokesperson during Secretary Hilary Clinton’s tenure and U.S. Ambassador to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) during President George W. Bush’s second term, 2005 – 2008.

Nuland also served as Special Envoy and chief negotiator on the Treaty on Conventional Arms Control in Europe from 2010 to 2011 and as Deputy National Security Advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney 2003 – 2005.