Africans Tell Bush to Hurry With Aid

One of President Bush’s signature aid programs for promoting democracy and good governance in the developing world came under fire Monday from several African presidents, who complained during an Oval Office meeting that red tape was delaying desperately needed assistance.

Bush promised to “work harder and faster” to expedite financial assistance to the region and instructed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was in the room and chairs the Millennium Challenge Account program, to get on the case, according to Botswana’s president, Festus Mogae.

“We complained bitterly about bureaucracy on that side. You bet we did,” Mogae said after he emerged from the White House meeting. Bush, he added, “regretted that, and he assured us that the secretary of State is going to look into that and improve.”

The discordant note came on a day when Bush again sought to highlight his efforts to help Africa as he played host to the leaders of five nations that recently held democratic elections: Botswana, Ghana, Mozambique, Namibia and Niger.

After the 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S., the Bush administration proposed the Millennium Challenge Corp. to administer an aid program with an eye toward not only providing financial assistance but also fostering reforms that stress human rights, education and economic equality.

The approach has been praised here and around the world as an innovative way to provide foreign aid and promote democratic reforms. But some foreign policy experts in the United States are concerned that the program has gotten off to a slow start and is insufficiently funded.

Although Bush first articulated his vision in 2002, saying he was committed “in my soul” to relieving Third World suffering, the agency was not established until January 2004.

Bush initially proposed a $5-billion annual budget for the agency, but Congress appropriated only $2.5 billion. He is seeking $3 billion for the program for fiscal 2006.

The corporation did not award its first grant until three months ago: $110 million to Madagascar over four years. On Monday, the corporation announced a second grant, $215 million to Honduras over five years. In addition, the corporation said, it has “a robust pipeline of countries” and anticipates awarding “several more” grants soon.

At the White House, spokesman Scott McClellan said it was Bush who first brought up the matter of red tape.

“The president was the one, I think, who upfront told them: ‘We need to do a better job of speeding up this process and getting those funds distributed and authorized,’ ” he said.

Shortly after the Oval Office meeting, Bush spoke to a group of diplomats and members of Congress, with the African leaders standing behind him.

“One thing we discussed was the Millennium Challenge Account,” he said. “And I assured the leaders we will work harder and faster to certify countries” to receive the funds.

Bush’s agenda for Africa has been prominent this month. Last week, he rejected a proposal by British Prime Minister Tony Blair for the U.S. and other major industrialized nations to double their foreign aid to Africa to about $80 billion by 2010. But during Blair’s visit to the White House, Bush announced $674 million in additional humanitarian assistance to Africa.

Over the weekend, the United States joined Britain and other members of the Group of 8 industrial nations to cancel more than $40 billion in debt owed by 18 of the world’s poorest countries, including 14 in Africa.

Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.), who attended Bush’s speech, told reporters later that the debt relief represented “a big step forward,” but said more assistance to Africa was needed.