Obama makes first African address

:Barack Obama has made his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as US President.

• Speaking after a G8 summit where leaders agreed to spend $20 billion (£12bn) to improve food security in poor countries, Obama spoke of a "new moment of promise" but stressed that Africans must play a leading role in solving their own problems.
• Mr Obama told Ghana's parliament: "Development depends upon good governance. That is the ingredient which has been missing in far too many places, for far too long.
• "That is the change that can unlock Africa's potential. And that is a responsibility that can only be met by Africans."
• Mr Obama took aim at corruption and rights abuses on the continent, warning that growth and development would be held back until such problems were tackled.
• He said America would not impose any system of government, but would increase help for those behaving responsibly.
• The visit has enormous resonance for Africa because of Obama's roots as the son of Kenyan immigrant. He laced his speech with tales of his background and the struggles of his forebears in the face of poverty and colonial rule.
• Ghanaians, many dressed in Obama t-shirts, packed into the streets of Accra in hope of glimpsing the president. They clustered around television sets in homes, bars and backyards to follow his words.
• Obama flew by helicopter to Cape Coast Castle, a former depot of the transatlantic slave trade and a reminder of one of the darkest chapters in African and American history.
• He said: "As painful as it is, I think that it helps to teach all of us that we have to do what we can to fight against the kinds of evils that sadly still exist in our world, not just on this continent but in every corner of the globe."
  
  
  
  By http://www.michaeljackson50.com/