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Foreign Policy Africa
Governance
Supporting good governance and the rule of law must be at the heart of U.S. policy toward Africa. Throughout the continent, Africans want and deserve government that is responsive and accountable. I closely follow elections on the continent and have spoken out forcefully against electoral abuses in Kenya, Nigeria and Ethiopia as well as coups in Madagascar and Mauritania. In 2007, I chaired a hearing on democratic developments in sub-Saharan Africa.
I have been particularly active on the political crisis in Zimbabwe. I visited Zimbabwe in 1999 and tried to return in 2002, but was blocked by the government there from doing so. I was an author of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001, which is now law and puts restrictions on our engagement with the Government of Zimbabwe until there is a restoration of the rule of law. I have passed several resolutions and held numerous hearings on U.S. policy toward Zimbabwe, most recently in September 2009.
At the same time as we push for democratic institutions, the United States needs to do more to help Africans fight corruption. A major obstacle to fighting corruption is the lack of transparency in the management of extractive industries across much of Africa and the world. In September 2008, I chaired a hearing on how the United States can better encourage transparency in resource-rich African countries. I am an original cosponsor of the Energy Security through Transparency Act of 2009, which would require U.S.-registered companies to publicly disclose any payments they make to foreign governments for resource extraction.
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