Nairobi- US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told a US-Africa trade meeting on Wednesday that business and trade in Africa cannot grow without governments improving democracy.
Clinton is in Kenya on the first leg of a seven-nation tour of Africa. The delegates in Kenya are reviewing the impact of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA, a US trade law aimed at increasing US imports of African products.
"True economic progress in Africa will depend on responsible governments that reject corruption, enforce the rule of law and deliver results for their people," Clinton told the meeting. "This is not just about good governance - it's also about good business."
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who said on Tuesday that Africa does not need to be lectured about democracy because many people on the continent had fought against political oppression, was more reconciliatory on Wednesday.
He said African countries could learn from Clinton's example when she conceded defeat to then-candidate Barack Obama during the US presidential primaries in 2008.
"That is a lesson Africa needs to learn seriously. In Africa, in many countries, elections are never won, they are only rigged. The losers never accept that they lost," said Odinga, who himself had contested the re-election of Kenya's president, Mwai Kibaki, in December 2007 elections. That dispute sparked violence that saw more than 1 000 people killed.
"If we do this, we will be able to develop democracy truly in the African continent," the Kenyan premier said.
In AGOA's early years, some countries were able to increase substantially textile exports to the United States. With international textile markets quota-free since early 2005, however, African textile manufacturers have found it increasingly difficult to compete against Indian and Chinese products.
China and India have lower production costs than African countries.
Clinton is scheduled later on Wednesday to speak to Kenya's leadership about US concerns for the country, the homeland of Obama's father, in the wake of corruption scandals and disputed 2007 elections.
Also in Nairobi, Clinton will meet the beleaguered president of lawless Somalia's interim government, which is embroiled in a struggle with Islamist extremists with suspected links to al-Qaida.
From Kenya, Clinton will travel to South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Liberia and Cape Verde.
-AP