The world has celebrated the victory of Barack Obama: a Democrat who will be the first black US president. Perhaps not surprisingly, his victory has been particularly hailed in Africa – there were street parties in Kenya on the announcement he had won the presidential race. There have also been comparisons – admittedly far off – between Obama and Nelson Mandela, the first democratically elected president of South Africa.

If anything, the most frequent comparison has been with JF Kennedy, ushering in an era of fresh air, fair play and optimism after eight years of the Bush administration, which for many has become synonymous with aggressive imperialism which has brought only disaster, chaos and misery. Bush's face is the face of war, lies, stupidity, greed and bigotry; Obama's face is one of hope, reason, integrity, peace, and equality.

A South African journalist has said that one of the greatest contributions that Obama can make is to improve the image of the US abroad, to bridge the gap and bring about a more harmonious relationship between America and the rest of the world, especially after the aggression of the Bush regime. Many South Africans do not have a positive view of the US, but that may change with Obama's presidency.

That is a "may", because, after all, Obama is inheriting one hell of a mess, both economically and militarily. The US subprime crisis metamorphosed into a worldwide financial meltdown, and the US itself has seen the collapse or near-collapse of major financial institutions, and just recently the big three car makers also had to be bailed out by the government. US unemployment is rising and it will be a while before the controversial bail-outs filter through.

Abroad, there is still Iraq and Afghanistan; and while Iraq is clearly a priority the Afghanistan situation cannot be ignored. There is still no peace in the Middle East and at this moment Gaza is being pummelled by the Israeli armed forces. The US is calling for a cease-fire but neither Hamas nor Israel seems to be interested, as countless civilians die.

Obama is going to have his hands full and expectations are high, and although he has reminded people that he was not born in a manger, a desperate electorate are going to want results. And with that demand, concerns have been raised in some quarters about how "world friendly" Obama's courses of action will in fact be.

Obama's chief responsibility is to the US electorate, and there are indications he may adopt protectionist labour and trade policies, to the detriment of African exporters and labour – the South African trade union federation, Cosatu, has already expressed concern that protectionism in the US manufacturing sector may prove harmful to South African workers.

So will the first US African-American president be a blessing or a disappointment to Africa? The question is still open and only time will tell. But in the meanwhile, I for one am relieved that the militarism of the Bush administration seems to be over.