[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 27264-27267]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                   AFRICA AND THE NEXT ADMINISTRATION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 15, 2000

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I want to share with you an outstanding speech 
by Ambassador Richard T. McCormack titled: The Challenges and 
Opportunities in Africa. In this speech, Ambassador McCormack's 
analysis and insight into the the problems and predicaments facing 
Africa are astute. I am hopeful that Ambassador McCormack's voice on 
Africa will be heard by both the next Congress and the next 
Administration.


[[Page 27265]]

       Presentation to the Center for the Study of the Presidency


               The challenges and opportunities in Africa

       Every year my work for American companies, investment 
     firms, and think tanks results in a tremendous amount of 
     global travel. I have learned that there is simply no 
     substitute for seeing local circumstances with your own eyes 
     and talking face-to-face with leaders who are struggling to 
     cope with their problems.
       Last May I visited China and met with top Chinese leaders 
     to discuss concerns about WTO issues. In June, I visited 
     Bulgaria and the Czech Republic to consult with elected 
     leaders and central bankers concerning economic opportunities 
     and dilemmas. Earlier that year I discussed with central 
     bankers in Europe problems involving the Euro and potential 
     vulnerabilities in the international derivative markets. And 
     I have continued to monitor Japan's ongoing banking and 
     growth problems with close contacts in Japan.
       But our chairman was aware of another extensive trip I took 
     this summer to Africa at the request of friends. He suggested 
     that I share with you tonight some of the observations and 
     conclusions from this consultation with Presidents, central 
     bankers, key officials from the African development bank, 
     leaders at the Organization of African Unity, aspiring 
     political leaders, and hundreds of ordinary citizens.
       One of the reasons that I agreed to make this trip was my 
     long standing interest in Africa beginning with my Ph.D. 
     dissertation about Kenya many decades ago. I took this trip 
     not because Africa is strategically important to the United 
     States, but rather because there are hundreds of millions of 
     people often in desperate circumstances in that part of the 
     world. These people need our understanding and assistance if 
     they are not to undergo catastrophe on a scale that has not 
     been seen since the plagues and wars of Europe during the 
     Middle Ages.
       Furthermore, I knew that Africa has produced a number of 
     leaders who have the right policy instincts and who care 
     about their people, but who need support in implementing 
     their visions.
       So what I am going to do in the next few minutes is offer 
     some snap shots of what I saw and heard on this trip to give 
     you some sense of what is happening in parts of Africa today. 
     Then I plan to list some suggestions that could help deal 
     with some of the regional problems.


                                 Benin

       Benin was the first country on the agenda. It is a small 
     county in West Africa led by a remarkable man, President 
     Kerekou. This veteran African leader had for many years 
     followed a Marxist path, but realized at one point the 
     bankruptcy of this approach and voluntarily left office. 
     Years later, he ran for the Presidency on a very different 
     platform and won overwhelmingly.
       Benin, of course, was one of the great slave exporting 
     countries in the 17th and 18th centuries. One Sunday morning 
     during a recent trip to Washington, President Kerekou visited 
     one of the largest predominately black churches. To the 
     astonishment of the people, he begged forgiveness on behalf 
     of his ancestors for having participated in the enslavement 
     of their ancestors. I am told that there was hardly a dry eye 
     in the church when the old gentleman finished his plea.
       In Benin, there were two kinds of tribes. Some of the 
     coastal tribes were the predators, and many of the tribes in 
     the interior were the prey. The animosity between these two 
     ethnic groups continues to this day to poison political and 
     social life in Benin and elsewhere in West Africa. For the 
     past several years, President Kerekou has organized 
     reconciliation ceremonies to try to heal these wounds. And he 
     has made considerable progress.
       Indeed, so great is his stature as a regional moral leader 
     that one of the other neighboring presidents I visited told 
     me that he would happily lay on the ground and let Kerekou 
     walk on him, so great was his respect for his distinguished 
     neighbor.


                              Ivory Coast

       In the Ivory Coast, I had two meetings with President Guei, 
     whose name has recently been on the front pages of many 
     American newspapers due to controversies surrounding the 
     recent presidential election in the Ivory Coast. Indeed since 
     our conversations, President Guei has fled into exile.
       But in my meetings with him, it was obvious that he was an 
     exhausted man with no evident ideas on how to deal with his 
     country's multiple problems. he was surrounded by layers of 
     bodyguards to foil assassination attempts. Within weeks of 
     our visit, another coup attempt resulted in a narrow escape 
     for the President and the death of a number of his guards.
       I asked friends how he came to be President and was told a 
     story which was largely confirmed later by the American 
     embassy.
       It seems that there were several hundred soldiers from 
     Ivory Coast who had been sent on a peace keeping mission to a 
     neighboring country. They had been promised a bonus for this 
     dangerous assignment. When they completed their work and 
     returned home, they applied to the Defense Ministry for their 
     due bonuses, which
       They then were told that the Ministry could not give them 
     the bonuses, ostensibly because they were out of funds. The 
     soldiers were told that they would possibly be paid next 
     year.
       The men were furious and took to the streets with their 
     guns, firing into the air. Suddenly crowds of people emerged, 
     cheering on the soldiers and thinking that they were part of 
     the coup to remove the increasingly tyrannical incumbent 
     President. The soldiers then moved to take over the 
     television station and sought a replacement President. They 
     realized that unless they found a new President, they would 
     face the wrath of the incumbent as soon as they returned to 
     their homes and barracks.
       They first approached the Minister of Sports, who declined 
     the honor. They then went to the farm of a retired general, 
     Mr. Guei, and offered him the Presidency. He too declined. 
     The soldiers then threatened to kill many members of the 
     existing government unless General Guei became the President. 
     Then, holding General Guei's wife hostage on the farm, they 
     escorted the General to the television station. At the 
     station, he announced that he would be the new interim 
     President, but said that he would only hold the job long 
     enough to organize new elections.
       After a few months, however, members of General Guei's 
     family discovered that they had an amazing talent for 
     business, hitherto unknown. Somehow, contracts materialized 
     along with a host of other benefits. They were reported to 
     have pressed General Guei to stand for a full term in the 
     upcoming elections. Since the General lacked much in the way 
     of charisma or ideas for dealing with the nation's problems, 
     some of the General's advisors and associates crafted an 
     election procedure that disqualified most of the more popular 
     potential opponents on one pretext or another. One relatively 
     weak opponent remained, however.
       Shortly after I left the country, riots broke our between 
     the various factions. General Guei lost the election and was 
     forced to flee the country. But it is not clear what will 
     happen next in Ivory Coast. There are great tensions in the 
     country, where there seems to be as many as 60 tribes and 
     language groups, divisions between Christians, Muslims, and 
     Animists. There is also ill will between the native Ivorians 
     and the more recent immigrants who are attracted by the 
     relative prosperity and stability of the country in past 
     decades. No one thinks that politics are yet settled.


                                Nigeria

       Nigeria was the next stop. From all the reports, the 
     current President of Nigeria is an honest man with the 
     interests of his people at heart. But there are a number of 
     problems.
       One of these is a culture of corruption which took root in 
     part of the society and body politic in years past. A 
     substantial percentage of Nigerian oil production is said to 
     be officially unaccounted for. As you travel around chaotic 
     Lagos, you frequently see warnings on buildings and fences 
     against land scams.
       The old agricultural base of the economy was neglected when 
     oil became such a critical part of the economy. This 
     contributed to over urbanization and drained the economy in 
     other ways as well. During times of low oil prices, the lack 
     of a more balanced economy is acutely felt. It also 
     contributes to the high unemployment rate.
       Airport security has been a persistent problem in recent 
     years, particularly the smaller domestic airport in Lagos. 
     Even my Nigerian hosts were alarmed as we ran the gauntlet of 
     muggers and panhandlers between the parking lot and the 
     actual terminal building. This, of course, also alarms 
     potential foreign investors and tourists.
       The new capital, Abuja, shows the signs of efforts of city 
     planners to avoid the chaotic growth of Lagos. And Nigerians 
     take justifiable pride in some of the new federal buildings. 
     The most conspicuous feature of the local press, however, 
     were articles about the struggle between the President and 
     the new parliament over a self appropriation of $40,000 to 
     each member of Parliament for furnishings for their private 
     residences. The President felt that this was excessive, 
     particularly during a period of budgetary stringency.
       Great tensions between Muslim and Christian regions of the 
     country are building again. These tensions have deep historic 
     roots, but have recently worsened due to a campaign to impose 
     Islamic law in areas of mixed populations with Muslim 
     majorities.
       You also hear the frequently expressed wish that the 
     President would reach out to include more people in his inner 
     circle, particularly younger people with recognized technical 
     skills.


                                Ethiopia

       Ethiopia was a country that I toured extensively when I 
     wrote my Ph.D. dissertation, but I had not visited this 
     country for several decades. I was interested in seeing what 
     20 years of communist rule and war had wrought in Haile 
     Selasi's ancient kingdom.
       My first visit was to the American embassy to seek a 
     briefing on economic and political conditions in this 
     country. To my dismay, the senior political and economic 
     counselor who had served there for three years

[[Page 27266]]

     was unable to tell me even the rate of inflation. It was an 
     extremely depressing visit. Fortunately, in my hotel, I 
     discovered an old friend, a senior IMF official who was 
     consulting with the Ethiopian government. So I did receive an 
     outstanding economic briefing.
       I also met with many of the key leaders in Ethiopia, who 
     had just completed a successful defensive war against 
     Eritrea, their neighbor to the north, and who were struggling 
     to get the economy back on track. Many of these people are 
     honest, but a Marxist education is not always the best 
     preparation for organizing an efficient market economy.
       In Addis Ababa, we saw a world class hotel, but which is 
     surrounded on all sides by dire poverty. Large numbers of 
     maimed veterans of past wars, street urchins, the aged, and 
     women with babies beg at every opportunity. It is heart 
     rending to see such scenes, and they are poison for the 
     tourist industry, which could become a massive source of jobs 
     and foreign exchange.
       Famine stalks the land in part of Ethiopia, even as one 
     drives by vast well watered and fertile agricultural lands 
     which could produce much higher yields with modern 
     agricultural techniques. Unclear land tenure policies, a 
     reaction to the vast feudal holdings of the Imperial era, 
     prevent ownership and consolidation which are necessary to 
     introduce modern farming on an efficient scale.


                                 Kenya

       Many years ago I lived in Nairobi, Kenya. When I revisited 
     this capital city, I found it virtually unrecognizable, 
     swollen like many other African cities by weaknesses in the 
     rural economy and the high birth rates. Drought and 
     electrical shortages have caused famine and blackouts. I also 
     saw the scars from the recent bombings of the American 
     embassy. A large distant fortified replacement facility was 
     rising in an isolated area far from the heart of the city. 
     Yet another bunker-like ``Festung Amerika'', seeking to foil 
     terrorist bombers, will be the inevitable final result.
       I met with a number of able and prominent political leaders 
     who were hoping to rise to power in the elections scheduled 
     within the next two years. There was an awareness of the real 
     cost of corruption to the national economy.
       Kenya's agriculture is in crisis. Drought is only part of 
     the problem. Kenyan farmers are compelled to sell their 
     coffee, the country's main foreign exchange earner, to the 
     government marketing board. This board has not yet paid the 
     farmers for last year's crop, creating acute hardships and 
     vast resentment. Such farmers are not in a position to make 
     expensive outlays for fertilizer and other needed materials, 
     guaranteeing a smaller crop next year to a country with a 
     foreign exchange shortage and high unemployment.
       One bright spot, though, is the vast game parks of Kenya 
     which are a source of great local pride and considerable 
     tourist revenue. During a visit, we actually observed a group 
     in Masai with spears trying to run down a lion, which no 
     doubt has been stalking their cattle. The drought had brought 
     both the cattle and the Masai into the normally forbidden 
     game park.


                              South Africa

       In South Africa, the legacy of decades of apartheid has 
     contributed to tension which are experienced at every hand. 
     Johannesburg, once a vibrant city, has become an urban 
     fortress with electrified fences and military concertina wire 
     surrounding every affluent home and neighborhood. Private 
     security services are one of the few booming businesses. 
     Hotels are being built near the airport because much of the 
     downtown area is no longer safe for visitors. Rural farmers 
     find themselves sometimes virtually under siege. Perhaps as 
     many as 50% of South Africans are unemployed. More than 20% 
     are HIV positive and doomed unless medical assistance can be 
     provided. Many of these stricken young men and women are 
     deeply angry, contributing to the crime and violence. 
     Educated young people are leaving the country in droves, 
     moving to New Zealand, Australia, and elsewhere, and taking 
     with them skills and talents which are desperately needed in 
     South Africa itself.
       Tension has arisen between former President Mandella and 
     his successor. His successor is under great pressure to find 
     jobs for black Africans. There is reluctance to confront the 
     AIDS problem with the urgency that is needed. Land seizures 
     supported by President Mugabe in Zimbabwe are putting growing 
     pressures on South African leaders to follow similar 
     policies. In Zimbabwe, such policies have proven catastrophic 
     both for modern agriculture, the national economy itself, and 
     for social peace. But it is not clear how long South African 
     leaders can resist pressures to begin similar policies. There 
     is great apprehension among the commercial farming 
     communities.
       Leaders of the South African government greatly resent 
     unfavorable reports about conditions in South Africa since 
     they desperately want to attract foreign investment to create 
     jobs and support the currency. But the truth of the matter is 
     that potential foreign investors always inquire of local 
     contacts about true local conditions.
       There is talk in South Africa, strongly opposed by the 
     government, about breaking up the country into zones where 
     racial and tribal concentrations exist. Unless stability is 
     created, the growing anarchy could eventually lead to just 
     such a result.
       If the deterioration in South Africa leads to anarchy, 
     civil war, and economic collapse, all neighboring countries 
     with important commercial relationships with South Africa 
     will also suffer. But the reverse is also true. If the South 
     African economy can be stabilized and revived, growth and 
     talent in South Africa will spread gradually throughout the 
     southern region. So the stakes are very high. It is also 
     important to remember that the earlier constructive action 
     takes place, the easier it will be to achieve results.
       Concerning South Africa, there are parts of the political 
     class in other parts of the world which viewed their task as 
     finished, once apartheid has been crushed and Mr. Mandella 
     installed in office with a mission to reconcile the nation. 
     But the truth of the matter is that Mr. Mandella is out of 
     office. Many exiles from socialist traditions
       The complexities and dilemmas inherent in this situation 
     have caused many people who were involved in the anti-
     apartheid struggle from Western countries to avert their eyes 
     from the growing unrest in large parts of South Africa. It 
     would be an historic tragedy if the elimination of apartheid 
     only ushered in a new era of economic and political misery, 
     and eventually a new one-party perpetuating misfortune on all 
     citizens, black and white. This would be a collective failure 
     for all of us.


                                 Congo

       Reports on developments in former Zaire, now the Congo, are 
     even more unsettling. These reports estimate that more than 
     two million people have been killed in the war that has been 
     raging throughout the country during the past two years. Here 
     too there is talk about the possible breakup of this vast, 
     potentially rich nation that has deteriorated steadily since 
     1960. Indeed, 70% of the modern hard surfaced roads built by 
     Belgian colonists in Congo have reverted to bush and jungle 
     and are unusable today.
       Some of the world's richest mineral deposits are unworked 
     due to violence, lack of mining machinery, collapsed 
     transportation infrastructure, and poor maintenance of mines 
     and facilities.
       Revenues from some of the still working mining operations 
     are being diverted to finance foreign troops defending the 
     regime in Kinshasa against other foreign troops who are 
     penetrating other parts of the country where a spill over 
     from earlier wars had created intolerable conditions for 
     neighboring countries.
       Many African leaders have worked hard to bring peace to 
     this wretched country and its 50 million people, but one 
     agreement after another has not been implemented. And the war 
     and killing continue.


                              What To Do?

       1. It is important to understand that there is no magic 
     wand that can, at a stroke, erase the legacy of decades of 
     misrule, mistakes, injustice, poverty, and violence that have 
     impacted parts of Africa. Many statistics are unreliable, 
     particularly those which quantify bad news. But this 
     knowledge should not paralyze us or prevent us from taking 
     steps that can, in fact, mitigate some of the problems in the 
     region and build a foundation for later growth and 
     development. Furthermore, there are now a number
       2. While there are generic problems in sub-Saharan Africa, 
     such as the AIDS crisis and other public health problems of 
     equal concern, each country in sub-Saharan Africa is truly 
     unique in tribal composition, politics, history, traditions, 
     resource base, religion, culture, and all the other factors 
     that contribute to diversity. Without a detailed knowledge of 
     these unique factors, it is difficult for even well-
     intentioned outsiders to contribute effectively in finding 
     solutions to the problems. In the United States, for example, 
     most parts of Africa lack an informed constituency of 
     sufficient size to serve as a buffer against the mistakes 
     that sometimes occur when policy issues in Washington become 
     a compromise between a junior desk officer at the State 
     Department, and a well-paid, politically connected lobbyist 
     representing the incumbent ruler. Fortunately, America 
     possesses talent and knowledge in depth about most parts of 
     Africa. Some of our experts are in the academic world, some 
     at the World Bank, some are retired diplomats, some 
     sophisticated journalists, and so on. What is needed is an 
     organized consultative process where these experts can be 
     brought together to address the problems of individual 
     African countries. Had such a process existed, it seems 
     doubtful to me that the American government would have thrown 
     its support behind Mr. Kabila, for example, and events in 
     Sierra Leone would have evolved differently. When we make 
     mistakes of this kind, not only do we lose credibility, but 
     we also impose heavier burdens on a region that is already 
     staggering. We owe it to the people of Africa either to send 
     in a varsity team or get off the playing field.
       3. Economic development cannot take place where armies are 
     contesting the ground. Prevention and resolution of these 
     conflicts requires a more effective effort.

[[Page 27267]]

     From the American point of view, the first line of defense in 
     preventing conflict is a vigilant, active, well-connected and 
     supported United States Embassy. It also requires in 
     Washington a back-up chain of command which actually reads 
     the reports from the field and is prepared to act on them in 
     a timely manner. This does not mean dispatching the 82nd 
     airborne division every time the fire bell rings. It does 
     mean rapid and effective coordination with allies and 
     regional powers and organizations, not to mention forceful, 
     private representations to potential malefactors. It is a lot 
     easier to stop a conflict before it is unleashed, than to try 
     to halt one, once blood flows and popular passions rise.
       In recent years pan Africa and sub regional African 
     organizations have shown themselves willing to fill part of 
     the vacuum left by former colonial powers' increasing 
     reluctance to engage directly in the affairs of their former 
     subject peoples. Greater international support for the 
     peacekeeping operations, including regional and sub-regional 
     organizations therefore is needed. Similarly when America 
     deploys its prestigious, heavy hitters in diplomatic peace 
     making missions, such efforts need to be supported, first of 
     all, by our own government. Undoubtedly, the United Nations 
     can play a large role in the future in this context if 
     adequately led and supported.
       4. Conflicting commercial ambitions by companies and 
     individuals in various African countries have sometimes 
     produced foreign diplomatic support for individual leaders or 
     potential leaders who are viewed as friends. ELF Petroleum's 
     objectives and the multiple rival interests in the diamond 
     industry are some of the many examples of this.
       Even where such interests are not directly involved, 
     paranoia about the potential of such sponsorship is helping 
     to prevent advanced countries from working together 
     effectively to support development in Africa. Covert support 
     for this or that potential leader is assumed. The recent 
     election in the Ivory Coast was a case in point, where riots 
     were mobilized by one group to protest alleged French 
     attempts to interfere in the election process.
       Yet it is absolutely clear that advanced countries could 
     accomplish much more in Africa by working together than by 
     allowing divisions over conflicting commercial agendas to 
     poison cooperation.
       There are a number of highly able African leaders who care 
     about the interests of their peoples, but who sometimes do 
     not have the in depth, local talent needed to craft 
     development strategies that could command wide support.
       There is an urgent need for such strategies in sub-Saharan 
     Africa. The best of African talent needs to be engaged with 
     that from cooperating multilateral organizations and 
     individual countries to produce as realistic and 
     comprehensive market based development plan for each country 
     in sub-Saharan Africa.
       At its peak, the mineral riches of one province in Congo 
     provided 25% of the GNP of that country. Once peace comes, a 
     high priority should be given to a plan to restore the power 
     and transportation infrastructure to allow these minerals to 
     play their earlier role in the local and global economy.
       By the same token, unwise policies, such as the current 
     efforts of President Mugabe to demagogue the issues involved 
     in the commercial farming sector of his country, need to be 
     more strongly discouraged by those in a position to deploy 
     carrots and sticks. Everywhere in Africa there is a need for 
     more intensive commercial farming, which has more than proven 
     its potential in the latter part of the 20th century. The 
     solid results achieved by efficient commercial farmers both 
     in feeding local people and in providing desperately needed 
     jobs and foreign exchange through exports is something that 
     should not be ignored.
       5. Delivery of health services is another area where more 
     cost effective distribution systems are needed in some 
     countries. A recent World Bank report suggested that of each 
     $100 appropriated for medicines by national budgets in 
     Africa, only $12 worth of such medicines reach patients. The 
     rest of the money is lost through a combination of spoilage, 
     corruption, and other apparent consequences of gross 
     mismanagement.
       The cost of commercially available treatment of HIV 
     positive individuals or those with AIDS is about $15,000/
     person. This is the approximate cost of educating 100 primary 
     school students for an entire year. Offers by the United 
     States to provide loans to impoverished African countries to 
     allow them to purchase greater quantities of commercially 
     available drugs to prolong the useful lives of the HIV 
     positive will not find many willing takers among governments 
     with unlimited pressing needs and limited resources.
       Prevention is obviously the most important first line of 
     defense against this scourge. Senegal does an effective job 
     in this regard, and its HIV positive population is merely 
     1.8% by comparison with other countries with rates in excess 
     of 20% and growing. Uganda is also now successfully lowering 
     the infected number of their citizens through effective anti-
     AIDS information campaigns. But the Senegal and Uganda 
     information programs should be put on the road and marketed 
     in all the African countries.
       Brazil has successfully begun to attack its own HIV problem 
     with generic drugs produced at a fraction of the $15,000 
     commercial rate. It did so by simply expropriating the 
     technology and subsidizing the production and dissemination 
     of the drugs.
       Clearly, it is in the interest of all that current market-
     based incentives for research and development of anti-AIDS 
     drugs should continue and intensify. Companies which are 
     successful should be rewarded for their success. The 
     franchises for distribution of HIV/AIDS medicines in Africa 
     should be purchased by donor governments and multilateral 
     health agencies.
       Even if not all the millions now infected can be treated 
     with anti-AIDS medicines due to cost factors and distribution 
     complexities, at least the scarcest talent in the country, 
     educated at vast cost, can be treated and their productive 
     lives greatly extended.
       6. Better education programs are clearly part of the answer 
     to Africa's multiple problems. But today, less than 2% more 
     women are being educated than was the case during the 
     colonial period. Educational costs are unnecessarily high in 
     some places because of unionized work forces that extract 
     high salaries and benefits. In some places, governments 
     cannot afford to field the number of highly paid teachers who 
     are needed to address the requirements of Africa's children.
       American children were educated in the 19th century with 
     very simple structures and facilities. This is an area where 
     friends of Africa in the developed world could perhaps 
     usefully contribute more in talent, funds, and advice. 
     Schools are also
       7. Leadership. During the Cold War, the United States 
     mounted an extensive effort to identify and support able, 
     young people from many parts of the world. Large numbers were 
     brought to the United States as visitors and hundreds of 
     thousands were educated here. The AIDS scourge is 
     decapitating large numbers of people, including the educated 
     elites in Africa, and a massive effort to replace these 
     vitally needed trained technical and leadership groups is 
     urgently needed. This will have to be a shared task among 
     many countries that are friends of Africa.


                               Conclusion

       This presentation is by no means an attempt at a 
     comprehensive look at Africa's current problems. Those 
     interested in digging deeper into the details should begin by 
     reading some of the useful publications that the World Bank 
     has recently sponsored and examine the writings of other 
     experts on Africa.
       Rather this speech is an effort to point out some of the 
     things that I saw myself on a recent tour of part of the 
     continent and some of the conclusions that I reached.
       It is intended as an appeal to parts of the policy 
     community who normally have responsibilities far beyond this 
     one isolated region. We all need to look again at what is 
     happening in sub-Saharan Africa and reconsider our overall 
     priorities.
       There is plenty of evidence that when the broader policy 
     community focuses its attention on a problem of this kind 
     that it can greatly strengthen the local leadership classes 
     that ultimately bear responsibility for implementing 
     solutions.
       In years past, non-profit organizations, scholars, 
     journalists, retired diplomats, and politicians, as well as 
     individuals working within governmental and multilateral 
     organizations have made major contributions in Africa. River 
     blindness, for example, has been almost eliminated from many 
     parts of Africa. New strains of crops have turned some famine 
     prone areas into food-exporting regions. Reconciliation 
     efforts far from the eyes of the public have brought old 
     enemies together. But when governments put their shoulders to 
     the wheel with imagination, resources, and leadership, they 
     can accomplish things that are far beyond what individuals 
     can do.
       There is both a need and an opportunity for collective 
     international action in Africa today. The recent debt relief 
     effort needs to be supplemented by programs that deal with 
     other aspects of the continent's urgent needs.
       Sometimes even a relatively modest effort in an area which 
     is under-served can yield a disproportionately positive 
     impact on the lives of a great many human beings. The 
     opportunities now in Africa are great for this kind of 
     commitment. I hope that some of you will take up the 
     challenge. Leadership, imagination, and resources are 
     urgently needed in this part of the world.

     

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