The decision made by President Trump to suspend donor funding through USAID has had direct and dire consequences for many countries on the continent, including the one of the most developed on continent: South Africa.
USAID had funded key projects in a variety of different sectors including critical sectors such as Health in support of HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, and Energy in support of the Just Energy Transition. According to the official Foreign Assistance Dashboard, USAID disbursed $1.8 billion to South Africa between 2020 and 2024. This, alongside historical contributions, has resulted in tangible outcomes through the support of government departments, academic and research institutions, NGO’s and consultancies.
The funding cuts have resulted in almost uniform uproar and a righteous indignation as to the likely impacts to lives and livelihoods, and the stark realization of how deeply donor funding has been woven into the fabric of national stability.
In some respects, this is understandable. The effects of this decision will be felt immediately. From a broader perspective, however, this crisis presents a clear and compelling opportunity, and as the saying goes: “Never waste a good crisis!”
As well-meaning as aid, or charity even can seem, there are multi-faceted problems associated with it. Firstly, post colonialism, foreign aid has largely been used as a lever for soft power by the global north. Similarly, access to concessional finance, grants and capital at large has been used to influence policy and decision making in countries across the continent. This reliance and dependence has largely reduced the autonomy and sovereignty that countries and nations should possess.
Autonomy, in many respects, is the real definition of freedom. For as long as we are reliant upon our parents for pocket money, a roof over our heads and food in our stomachs, we are subservient to their rules. Similarly, for as long as countries are dependent on others for their basic needs, one cannot have agency to act as one deems fit; thereby limiting sovereignty.
The second limiting aspect of foreign aid is the reliance that it creates from the recipient on the provider. If, as a child, one is always sheltered by one’s parents, there is never the opportunity to learn independence. For African countries to truly break free from the yoke of post-colonial dependence Africa needs to learn to do it in our own way, on our own terms.
While the continent has been clear in proclaiming the need for African solutions to African problems, the reality remains that there are deeper structural hindrances to turning this vision into action. Rhetoric alone does not translate into capability, and slogans, no matter how well-intended, cannot replace building real, functional autonomy. The challenge is not just in identifying the problems, but in addressing the underlying constraints - economic, intellectual, and infrastructural - that keep us tethered to external dependencies.
Strategically, it brings us back to leverage. Ultimately, everything comes back down to leverage. Without leverage we remain price takers in the global economy, passive recipients of foreign policy decisions, and vulnerable to the whims of donor nations. The key lies in creating multiplier effects: investments that yield self-sustaining cycles of growth, innovations that generate further opportunities, and policies that build long-term resilience rather than short-term fixes.
There is a phrase that we like to use at AIA, that is African Intellectual Autonomy; as our take on the African solutions to African problems aphorism. As clear as the call for sovereignty is, we must realise that our ability to chart our own course requires us to take ownership of the decisions relevant to us, by having the capability to solve our own problems.
Perhaps the failures that we have experienced has been in us devolving our authority and allowing others to make our decisions for us.
AIA believes that there is no better time than now to reclaim our intellectual autonomy, to solve our own problems in a way that benefits not just majorities or minorities, but all.
Mar 2025 African Autonomy African Investment Foreign Aid
