Clinton presses Angola to fight corruption

nited States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addresses a press conference in Luanda, August 9, 2009.Clinton pressed Angola on Sunday to do more to fight corruption during a two-day visit to the oil-producing country aimed at bolstering ties between the two nations. REUTERS
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed Angola yesterday to do more to fight corruption during a two-day visit to the oil-producing country aimed at bolstering ties between the two nations.


Angola rivals Nigeria as Africa’s biggest oil producer but about two-thirds of the population live on less than $2 a day. It ranks 158th on Transparency International’s 180-nation corruption list.

“Corruption is a problem everywhere and where it exists it undermines people’s faith in democracy, it distorts governance,” Clinton said at a news conference alongside Angolan Foreign Minister Assuncao dos Anjos.

Corruption has been a theme of Clinton’s trip to Africa, echoing US President Barack Obama when he visited Ghana last month. She praised Angola for publishing its oil revenues online and for working with U.S. officials to increase transparency.

“Of course we raised this issue with the minister but I think it is only fair to add that Angola has begun taking steps to increase transparency,” said Mrs Clinton, the first US secretary of state to visit since 2002. A senior US official said Clinton had been very direct in her discussions with the foreign minister regarding Angola’s record on corruption and also urged the African nation to play a bigger role in the region.

“They are moving in the right direction, so its better to encourage them,” the US official said. US-Angolan ties have improved since the end of Angola’s 27-year civil war, during which Washington helped bankroll one of the losing groups, Unita, now the main opposition party.

Unita urged Mrs Clinton to press the government not to delay the first post-war presidential election. (Reuters)