ACCRA - US PRESIDENT Barack Obama on Saturday condemned tyrants who enrich themselves and urged Africans to demand stronger governments as he made a landmark trip to the continent where his father was born.
Obama called 'true son of Africa'
MR OBAMA described the tour as 'a moving experience'.
He had earlier condemned African tyrants who enrich themselves and urged Africans to demand stronger governments and accountability.
Obama and family paid 'moving visit' to a former slave coast
CAPE COAST (Ghana)- US PRESIDENT Barack Obama and his family on Saturday made a 'moving' visit to a former slave trading fort in Ghana during a landmark visit to the west African country The Obamas went on a guided tour of Cape Coast Castle, formerly one of the continent's main outposts from where countless slaves were shipped trans-Atlantic to the Americas.
Mr Obama, the son of an African immigrant, and his wife Michelle, a descendant of African slaves, were accompanied on the tour by their daughters Malia and Sasha.
KHARTOUM - SUDAN on Saturday hit out at US President Barack Obama, saying his use of the term 'genocide' to describe the conflict in Darfur marked 'a step back.' Mr Obama, in Ghana on Saturday on his first official trip as president to Africa, condemned tyrants who enrich themselves and urged Africans to demand stronger governments.
He added that conflicts such as the 'genocide' in Darfur and terrorism in Somalia were 'a millstone around Africa's neck.' 'It is a step back... it is not helping. It is not constructive,' Mr Ali Sadiq, spokesman for the Sudanese foreign ministry, told AFP, referring to Obama's comments.
On his first official trip as president to the heart of Africa, Mr Obama vowed more US help to battle disease and said conflicts such as the 'genocide' in Darfur and terrorism in Somalia were 'a millstone around Africa's neck.' The US president, whose father was Kenyan and who called the visit 'particularly meaningful,' said these conflicts needed a global response.
'Africa's future is up to Africans,' Mr Obama said in a keynote speech to the Ghanaian parliament which he hoped would resonate across the continent, before visiting a former fort from where countless slaves were shipped to the Americas.
But the US leader, who left Ghana on Saturday night, added many warnings to Africa's leaders and its people.
'Development depends upon good governance. That is the ingredient which has been missing in far too many places, for far too long,' he said.
'That is the change that can unlock Africa's potential. And that is a responsibility that can only be met by Africans.' 'Repression takes many forms, and too many nations are plagued by problems that condemn their people to poverty. No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves, or police can be bought off by drug traffickers.
'Africa doesn't need strongmen, it needs strong institutions,' he declared to applause.
Before departing Ghana for Washington, Mr Obama said the visit had been meaningful.
'As somebody whose father comes from Africa I am pleased this visit has been particularly meaningful for me,' he said.
He and his wife Michelle, a descendant of African slaves, as well as their daughters Malia and Sasha, toured Cape Coast Castle, once one of Africa's main outposts from where slaves were shipped to the Americas. -- AFP
