US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday investors would shun African states with weak leaders and economies riddled with corruption and crime. Speaking at a trade meeting with sub-Saharan African countries, Clinton repeated a message given last month by US President Barack Obama in a speech in Ghana. “True economic progress in Africa...also depends on responsible governments that reject corruption, enforce the rule of law and deliver results for their people. This is not just about good governance, this is about good business,” Clinton said at the meeting. “Investors will be attracted to states that do this. And they will not be attracted to states with failed or weak leadership, or crime and civil unrest, or corruption that taints every transaction and decision.” In a video message after Clinton spoke, Obama, whose father was Kenyan, said: “Only Africans can unlock Africa's potential.” Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said African goods could not compete against those from the United States that were subsidised. “We need partnership and not patronage,” Odinga said at the meeting. The US African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is due to expire in 2015, and some African countries would like that extended as the deadline causes uncertainty among potential investors. The US is reviewing whether to suspend trade benefits for Madagascar following President Andry Rajoelina's March power grab. But US Trade Representative Ron Kirk, who is accompanying Clinton to Nairobi, said a decision had not yet been taken. Clinton told Kenya's government it must quickly implement long-delayed reforms and that corruption, impunity and human rights abuses were holding the country back. “The absence of strong, effective democratic institutions has permitted ongoing corruption, impunity, politically motivated violence, human rights abuses and a lack of respect for the rule of law,” she said in unusually harsh language. “These conditions helped fuel the post-election violence and they are continuing to hold Kenya back,” said Clinton. Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula said his government was doing everything it could. “All sanctuaries of corruption will be destroyed to make Kenya a cleaner and safer place to do business,” he promised.
