Donald Trump ends US initiative to boost electricity access in Africa

A US initiative to increase electricity supply in Africa has been dismantled by the Trump administration after more than a decade of work, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter. Almost all of Power Africa’s programs have been listed for termination and the majority of its staff fired, said the people who asked not to be identified as they aren’t authorized to speak to the media.

Some remaining programs, particularly those aimed at connecting projects with US companies, may be retained under other US agencies, they said. “Each program is undergoing a review with the goal of restructuring assistance to serve US interests,” a State Department spokesperson said in a reply to questions.

“Programs that serve our nation’s interests will continue. However, programs that aren’t aligned with our national interest will not.” Power Africa, which operated under the US Agency for International Development, was initiated under former President Barack Obama to add 30 gigawatts of cleaner electricity generation capacity and 60 million connections to homes and businesses.