U.S. Electrification "Partnershiph" with Tanzania

While browsing NPR, I came upon this audio news recording titled "Obama Promises Billions to Double Africa's Electricity Access" (listen here: http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=197713640&m=197713651). Since my practice experience this summer will be with the Maasai Women's Development Organisation health clinic, I thought that this provoked many questions, especially since my organization serves the distant pastoral villages in Northern Tanzania.

Quite simply, Obama's campaign called "Power Africa" aims to invest $7 billion dollars to Africa in order to increase local's and businesses access to electricity, and to ultimately unleash Africa's economic potential. The reasons offered by NPR's Greg Warner are the following: 1) the "tremendous need in Africa" for street lights, keeping medicines cold, etc, 2) an advantage for the U.S. economy as the administration sees Africa as an untapped resource for businesses, and 3) to encourage green technology to be tried and implemented for clean power.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love electricity. I love being able to study on my laptop at night and have the leisure to learn about international conditions at the click of a button; to be able to connect to internet; charge my phone; use light when cooking; and everything else. And I do believe that anyone anywhere can benefit from electricity if they choose, especially entire economies in terms of the marginal increase in the possibilities for entrepreneurs and increasing internal businesses. But, just like any technology being introduced, how will this be received? How will locals feel about having to pay a utility bill for the first time? Do they even want it? Will they have a choice? What locations will be selected for electrification? Will the neglected/outskirting regions all over Africa be reached? Whether or not the concept of electrification is going to be a positive change (short and long run) can be debated by African politicians and locals, U.S. tax payers, businesses, and even students.

What I am curious to know, is which U.S. entities have an interest in this, and to whose benefit? According to Obama, this is not charity. This is business. Whose business? Well, $7 billion will be coming from the U.S. government and $9 billion will be from the private sector. The private sector including big names like General Electric and even smaller U.S. companies, all in the hope that they can expand their businesses and make money investing in Africa by including it in the global economy. The idea of imperialism is hard to avoid as I wonder how these businesses will be conducted, and if African countries' benefits will be converted to positive action to improvement or to embezzlement/corruption. Transnational business will undoubtedly seek to exploit local employees to maximize profits. So who is going to regulate conduct and actually enforce it? Will these businesses moving result in shared fortune? Or will the margin of inequality widen?