US President Barack Obama has told Africans that Western aid must be matched by good governance and has urged them to take greater responsibility for stamping out war, corruption and disease.
Mr Obama delivered the message on his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa since taking office in January.
Fresh from a G8 summit where leaders agreed to spend $20 billion to improve food security in poor countries, Mr Obama spoke of a ‘new moment of promise’ but stressed that Africans must also take a leading role in sorting out their many problems.
‘Development depends upon good governance,’ he said in a speech to Ghana's parliament. ‘That is the ingredient which has been missing in far too many places, for far too long. That is the change that can unlock Africa's potential. And that is a responsibility that can only be met by Africans.’
In an address that offered the most detailed view of his Africa policy, Mr Obama took aim at corruption and rights abuses on the continent, warning that growth and development would be held back until such problems were tackled.
He said America would not impose any system of government, but would increase help for those behaving responsibly.
The visit has enormous resonance for Africa because of Obama's roots as the son of Kenyan immigrant. He laced his speech with tales of his background and the struggles of his forebears in the face of poverty and colonial rule.
Mr Obama hailed democratic Ghana as a model for other African countries during his visit.
‘We wanted to make sure to come to an African country after the G8 and after my business in Moscow to emphasise that Africa is not separate from world affairs,’ Mr Obama said after meeting Ghanaian President John Atta Mills in Accra.
Mr Mills was elected in a peaceful, transparent vote last December in which the former ruling party conceded power.
‘We think that Ghana can be an extraordinary model for success throughout the continent,’ Mr Obama said at the presidential castle in Accra that was once the seat of European slave traders.
The visit has enormous resonance for Africa because of the US President's roots as the son of Kenyan immigrant.
‘We like the positive signals that this visit is sending and will continue to send,’ President Mills said.
‘This encourages us also to sustain the gains that we have made in our democratic process.’
