Trump Cancels Africa's Power Supply Program, Most Staff Fired

UNSPLASH/Andrey Metelev ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - The United States' initiative to increase electricity supply in Africa was canceled by US President Donald Trump's administration after more than a decade of work,

This was reported by Bloomberg News citing people familiar with the matter on Wednesday, February 26.

Nearly all of Power Africa's programs have been registered to be discontinued and most of its staff have been fired, the report continued, citing unnamed sources.

Some of the remaining programs, especially those aimed at linking projects with US companies, may be maintained under other US institutions.

The Power Africa initiative, launched in 2013 by President Barack Obama, aims to provide electricity to tens of millions of households in Africa.

Each program is undergoing a review with the aim of restructuring aid to serve US interests, Bloomberg reported, citing a State Department spokesman.

Programs that serve our country's interests will continue. However, programs that are inconsistent with our national interests will not continue," an official from the department told Bloomberg when answering questions.

Email sent to the US State Department office asking for a response was not immediately replied.

Power Africa operates under the US government aid provider USAID, which is the first major target of efforts to cut federal government spending led by the Department of Government Efficiency owned by billionaire Elon Musk.