[Paul Wolfowitz] urges Africa to end corruption

from Press of Atlantic City

By DULUE MBACHU, Associated Press Writer

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) - Africa needs to build infrastructure and curb corruption to become truly attractive for private investment, World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz told a forum of African and black American leaders.

Still, Wolfowitz commended the continent for moving toward peace and said the stability is helping to grow African economies.

"Four to five years ago there were 16 wars in Africa. But now it's down to six," Wolfowitz said. He spoke Tuesday to African political and business leaders gathered with their U.S. counterparts in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, for the 7th Leon Sullivan Summit.

Growing peace has in turn been matched by growing economies, Wolfowitz said, with the continent as a whole recording 5 percent growth in 2005 and 15 countries sustaining more than 5 percent growth for a decade.

The meeting - named for a crusading U.S. civil rights campaigner from the 1970s - aims to bring African governments and the U.S. private sector together for partnerships to end Africa's poverty. Presidents from more than a dozen African countries are attending along with executives from companies including Chevron Corp., Coca-Cola Co., General Motors Corp., and DaimlerChrysler AG.

Africans are showing their eagerness to escape poverty, and donors have increased their commitment, the World Bank president said, resulting in more than $60 billion in debt cancellation for the continent.

"What is not universal is good governance," Wolfowitz said, urging reforms to improve infrastructure and decrease corruption to attract investment.