Alusine A. Sesay

First, it was USAID that saw its plug pulled.
Now, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) finds itself next on the chopping block. – This is a crusade to downsize USA federal government.

Donald Trump, flanked by the ever-controversial Elon Musk, has pushed forward with a strategy that deems foreign aid an unnecessary burden on the American taxpayer.

According to a recording from a recent internal meeting, MCC staff were informed on Wednesday (Yesterday) that all agency programmes would be wound down, or shut down, and staffing drastically reduced.

A senior official Kyeh Kim, reportedly told staff, and I quote: “Foreign aid is not a priority for the administration, and so MCC’s work needs to wind down.”

Let us not forget that only a few months prior, Trump administration dismantled USAID, the United States’ primary aid apparatus, responsible for disbursing some $40 billion annually in “development assistance” across the globe.

The way I see this is this: there is a sobering takeaway here for many African nations. I mean, let’s be honest, the era of sustained handouts is fast drawing to a close.

Countries awash with natural and mineral wealth (Like Sierra Leone) must now confront an UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH. They must learn to stand on their own institutional feet.

Governance structures must be reformed, and systems designed to harness national resources for the public good, rather than to prop up political patronage and institutionalised inefficiency.

But this did n’t come as a surprise to some of us. Because Trump made NO SECRET of his INDIFFERENCE to Africa, nor of his disdain for “development aid”, that he said lacks a direct return on investment to the United States.–

The dismantling of USAID, followed swiftly by the MCC, is not just administrative housekeeping.–it is a geopolitical message.
And for many African leaders still clinging to donor dependency, it might just be time to WAKE UP from the dream.