BONO - BONO TELLS AFRICAN LEADERS TO CUT OUT CORRUPTION

BONO has warned African leaders they could lose the goodwill of wealthy nations unless they tackle and overcome corruption. During a talk in the Nigerian capital Abuja the U2 singer and charity campaigner told finance ministers they need to cut out corruption before the developed world loses patience. He said, "There is a window of opportunity but it could close if things like the corruption issue are not tackled or the peer review mechanisms are not felt to be real. "The single biggest obstacle to business and the renewal of the economies in the south is corruption and the single biggest obstacle to getting start-up money for those businesses, if you want to look at aid as investment, is corruption. "The small 'c' in corruption is a plague as deadly as the HIV virus and it is not just the businessman, the ones that are hurt the most are always the ones that have nothing. "Any company that sees Africa as an economic opportunity, and we hope more of the do, has a social and moral responsibility to invest with integrity. Corruption is a problem in Africa but not just yours, it's ours."