By Matt Spetalnick and Kwasi Kpodo
ACCRA (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama told Africans on Saturday that Western aid must be matched by good governance and urged them to take greater responsibility for stamping out war, corruption and disease plaguing the continent.
Obama delivered the message on his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa since taking office in January as the first black U.S. president. He chose stable, democratic Ghana because he believes it can serve as a model for the rest of Africa.
Fresh from a G8 summit where leaders agreed to spend $20 billion (12.3 billion pounds) to improve food security in poor countries, Obama stressed that Africans must also take a leading role in sorting out their many problems.
"Development depends upon good governance," Obama said in a speech to Ghana's parliament. "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."
In an address that offered the most detailed view of Obama's Africa policy, he took aim at corruption and rights abuses on the continent, warning that growth and development would be retarded until such problems were tackled.
"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. No business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20 percent off the top," Obama said.
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 mentions of his background and the struggles of his forebears in the face of poverty and colonial rule.
"We like the positive signals that this visit is sending and will continue to send," said Ghanaian President John Atta Mills, elected in a transparent election that contrasted with stereotypes of chaos, coups and corruption in Africa.
"This encourages us also to sustain the gains that we have made in our democratic process."
"YES, WE CAN"
MP's chanted "yes, we can" before Obama started and the president ended his address with that phrase -- his old campaign slogan. The crowd's response was much warmer than the cordial but mostly chilly reception in Moscow earlier in the week.
Obama praised Ghana's economic record too.
Reforms in the cocoa and gold producing country, set to begin pumping oil next year, helped bring unprecedented investment and growth before the impact of the global financial crisis.
"We don't allow one president to rule for 30 years. This should be evidence to other countries that it can be done," said tax official Nii Dodoo, 41, among the crowds in Accra.
Walls and utility poles were plastered with posters of side-by-side portraits of Obama and Mills and the word "change" -- the mantra of Obama's presidential election campaign.
Ghanaians in bright yellow T-shirts showing Obama next to Mills hoped for a glimpse of Obama, a hero on the continent because of his roots as the son of a Kenyan immigrant. But tight security meant only a few got the chance to cheer him.
Obama was later due to visit Cape Coast Castle, a fort used in the trans-atlantic slave trade. He and his family will spend less than 24 hours in Ghana before returning to the United States.
(Additional reporting by Daniel Magnowski and Kwasi Kpodo)
