Liberian leader to Obama: Africa needs investment

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Liberian leader Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf hopes President Barack Obama will underscore during his visit to Ghana this weekend that the United States cares about Africa and wants to be part of its development through increased trade and investment. In an interview on Thursday, Johnson-Sirleaf told Reuters the message from Obama, the first U.S. black president, would be important as a global financial crisis and recession threaten to undermine a decade of economic progress in Africa and concerns rise that donors will not deliver on their aid promises. "We hope he is coming to give a message to Africa that the U.S. cares about Africa and its development, it is prepared to be a strong partner to Africa and is prepared to compete with others for this partnership," Johnson-Sirleaf said by telephone from Liberia's capital, Monrovia. She said while Ghana was the only African country Obama would visit, it was an example of a country that had prospered through good economic policies, more transparency and the successful transfer of political power through the ballot box. But like elsewhere in Africa, its economy has been crippled by falling revenue as global trade has collapsed, just when countries were growing at more than 6 percent annually, enough to make a dent in poverty levels. For Liberia, founded in the 19th century by freed black slaves from America, the crisis has come as the country rebuilds after years of conflict that ended in elections in 2005 when Johnson-Sirleaf became Africa's first female president and vowed to fight corruption. "There is a major transformation that is going on in Africa and I hope Obama in Ghana will see a very clear example of that," she said. CHINA'S INCREASING ROLE Among the issues she hopes Obama will address is Africa's desperate need for investment in roads, railways and power, which has constrained development and intra-African trade. She said Washington should increase investment guarantees to U.S. firms wanting to do business in Africa, noting China's increasing role in Africa and its zeal for business. To make the point, she said the U.S. export-import bank provided $400 million in guarantees to American firms investing in Africa in 2007, while China's export-import agency the same year provided $13 billion in guarantees to Chinese companies to work in the region. "We hope that type of statistic will be brought to President Obama's attention and he can see there is a whole new area of opportunity there for increasing the business they have in African economies and which also has benefits for us," she added. Johnson-Sirleaf welcomed a U.S. proposal at a Group of Eight summit of industrial countries in Italy this week to increase funding for agricultural investment in developing countries, but she said getting the food to markets was the biggest challenge. The plan, which seeks to raise $15 billion, will be discussed at the G8 leaders' summit on Friday. She said Obama should give African farm products more access to U.S. markets under an agricultural trade program similar to the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which allows 37 African countries to ship some goods to the United States without paying duties. As the Obama administration looks at ways to revamp U.S. foreign aid, Johnson-Sirleaf urged Obama to expand the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the U.S. government's main development fund set up by former President George W Bush. She said not only did MCC programs allow African governments to choose where they spent the funds, but the fund's seal of approval showcased countries with good policies and attracted U.S. investors. "We hope he would take a good look at that program and will conclude it is a good program and worthy of continued and expanded support," she added. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Peter Cooney) Source: Reuters