Tuesday, March 11, 2025 - The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has confirmed that 83% of programmes run by USAID will be cancelled in what is likely to represent a major reduction in US development assistance to Africa.
The cancellation of 5200 contracts follows a rapid six-week review into
US aid spending by the administration of President Donald Trump with the
participation of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which
has been tasked with rooting out perceived wasteful government
expenditure.
“After a 6 week review we are officially cancelling 83% of the programs
at USAID. The 5200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of
dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core
national interests of the United States,” Rubio tweeted.
Rubio claimed that the remaining programmes, numbering around 1000, are
to be administered “more effectively” under his State Department “in
consultation with Congress.” Rubio thanked “DOGE and our hardworking staff” for
what he dubbed “overdue and historic reform.”
President Donald Trump on Jan. 20 issued an executive order directing a
freeze of foreign assistance funding and a review of all of the tens of
billions of dollars of U.S. aid and development work abroad. Trump charged that
much of foreign assistance was wasteful and advanced a liberal agenda.
In the last month, thousands of USAID staff have been placed on
administrative leave while those working on overseas programmes have been told
to prepare to return to the US.
Africa, which has long been a recipient of major flows of US development
aid, is likely to be heavily impacted by the gutting of USAID.
According to data from Semafor, citing the US State Department,
sub-Saharan Africa accounted for $12bn of USAID’s 2024 spending obligations;
the five largest expected recipients were listed as DR Congo ($1.3bn), Ethiopia
($1.2bn), Sudan ($770m), Nigeria ($760m) and South Sudan ($730m).
0 Comments