Africans Worry About Bush
by RAVI NESSMAN Associated Press Writer

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) --

President-elect Bush's appointment of two blacks to senior foreign policy
positions has done little to assuage fear
that his administration will ignore Africa.  Over the weekend, Bush named
Condoleezza Rice to run his National Security Council and retired Gen. Colin
Powell as secretary of state.  Ghana's deputy foreign minister, Joseph Ahwa
Laryea, called the appointments ''an honor and great relief for the black
race. However, we'll like to see whether it is not cosmetic or symbolic.''
Others focused on Bush's statement during one of the presidential debates
that Africa would not be a foreign policy priority in his administration.
The Sowetan, South Africa's largest black newspaper, did not even report on
the appointments of Rice, a Russia specialist, and Powell, a hero of the
1991 Persian Gulf War.  The East African press also ignored the
appointments, predicting that Africa will suffer ''benign neglect'' under
the new Bush administration.  Regardless of the race of his appointees, Bush
has a long way to go to overcome perceptions that Republicans are
insensitive to Africans, others said.  ''It is all just a matter of Bush
seeking to add a color splash to his Cabinet,'' Nigerian businessman Tunde
Asaju said in Abuja. ''He does not understand Africa. So can his
appointments affect Africa positively?''  Dr. Stanley Macebuh, an aide to
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, said Africa should abandon hopes of
close ties with a Bush administration.  ''Even the appointment of Colin
Powell, a black American, as secretary of state, is nothing to cheer
about,'' Macebuh said, adding he felt Powell was ''anti-Africa.''  Patricia
de Lille, an outspoken member of South Africa's Parliament with the
opposition Pan African Congress, said the race of the appointees was
meaningless.  ''We mustn't see American foreign policy as blacks having to
deal with blacks in Africa,'' she said. ''The policy of the United States
will determine its relationship to Africa, not individuals.''
 AP-NY-12-18-00 1625EST<

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