Post by cjm on Aug 20, 2019 7:12:21 GMT
One high profile post in Africa remains unfilled - South Africa, which hasn't had a fully accredited ambassador since the departure at the end of 2016 of Patrick Gaspard, who was appointed by President Obama. Lana Marks, a South African-born fashion designer who was nominated last November by President Trump, won approval from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in July. But she did not appear on the list of nominees presented for approval before the Senate left Washington for a five-week recess on August 1.
The personnel changes coincide with a slow roll-out of the administration's 'Prosper Africa' policy designed to encourage increased American trade and investment and counter growing Chinese influence across the continent.