Fair Observer presents Conversations on Google+ Hangout.

Old habits die hard. The United States still seems to think of Africa through the prism of aid instead of trade. US President Barack Obama has announced a new $7 billion "Power Africa" plan and visited sub-Saharan Africa to promote "world health initiatives." Whilst seemingly innocuous, it seems the US is still seeking to bring light to Africa while the Chinese just want to do business: they are building factories, buying land, and mining minerals with a ferocity that was once associated with the Europeans.

Have the Chinese overreached? Is the stage set for the US to regain influence in Africa? Or are we going to see a scramble for Africa reminiscent of former times? Or is Africa finally a power in its own right and will it play off these two giants to negotiate the best deals it can? Or is the very idea of Africa as a cohesive entity a false one, given the diversity, disparity and divergence in this continent of a billion people?

Fair Observer presents Conversations on Google+ Hangout, where we discuss Obama's recent visit to Africa and what it portends. It casts a bird's eye view over the legacy of the past, the developments over the last two decades, and the trends that we can extrapolate into the future.

Who is on the panel?

• Solomon Appiah (@SolomonAppiah5), DAAD public policy and good governance fellow

• Claire Price (@ClaireJPrice), British journalist and former BBC reporter and producer

• Kenneth Oriwa, senior finance professional in New York

The Google+ Hangout is moderated by Atul Singh (@atulabhas), founder & editor-in-chief at Fair Observer.

The discussion took place on July 26. 

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