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Bush notices Africa
29/06/2001 22:15 - (SA)
Washington - President George W. Bush is making a point of paying attention to Africa.
After five months in office, Bush has met with the presidents of Nigeria, South Africa and, on Thursday, Ghana, Mali and Senegal. He launched a global fund to help fight the African Aids pandemic. He declared Sudan a human rights "disaster area" and took steps toward
trying to restart peace talks there. He invited African trade
ministers to a Washington summit.
Already, Secretary of State Colin Powell has toured four African countries.
This early flurry of activity has gotten high marks from Africa advocates - and it has also made them wary. They wonder if the White House focus will last if Congress doesn't back it up with funds, or if US involvement in an African conflict suddenly turns into a political liability.
"He does not want to seem to undo the progress made under President Bill Clinton's administration, and that's good," said Susan Rice, Clinton's assistant secretary of state for Africa. "However, Africa policy has to go far beyond symbolism and meetings and visits. The real question, in my judgement, is whether they're going to put their money where their mouths are."
Thursday's group session with Presidents John Kufuor of Ghana, Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and Alpha Oumar Konare of Mali follows Bush's meeting two days ago with South African President Thabo Mbeki and his May meeting with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.
"Those three West African nations are real gems in Africa," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer. "They are real success stories. They are democracies. They have implemented economic reforms. This is a sign of the president's commitment and interest in Africa."
Bush has tended to use these sessions to address major policy concerns. It was with Obasanjo that Bush announced an initial $200 million US investment in a global Aids fund - and Obasanjo tactfully said it was not enough. With Powell as a driving force, Bush committed to giving more money and, this week, a congressional committee agreed to push for putting more than $1.3 billion into the cause.
With Mbeki, Bush talked about "the problems of slave-like practices" in Sudan and sought a full briefing on instability in neighboring Zimbabwe, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Bush brought up the Aids epidemic, but was careful not to browbeat Mbeki for bypassing the UN summit on the subject.
Wade said that he would ask Bush for help with peacekeeping and discuss failed aid programs in Africa and ways to attract corporate investment.
The essence of Bush's strategy is trade. He wants to build Nigeria and South Africa into anchors that can attract US investment needed to generate jobs that can lift African economies.
But Bush also hopes to resolve some of Africa's wars, such as those in Sudan, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi, and prevent conflicts in countries such as Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast and Kenya. - Sapa-AP
- SAPA
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