28 September 2001
Despite Attacks on U.S., Africa Business Head Predicts Future Growth
(CCA's S. Hayes sees no investor pullout on continent) (630)
By Jim Fisher-Thompson
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington - Despite the devastating September 11 terrorist attack on
New York City -- the financial and commercial hub of America -- the
head of one of the largest U.S.-African business associations says he
sees continued and steady growth in investor confidence in the Africa
region.
Stephen Hayes, president of the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) told
the Washington File September 27, "to be realistic. I think that in
the short-term this [terrorism] will somewhat slow investment in
Africa. And "I think new investors especially are going to be a lot
more cautious."
At the same time the head of the 170-member business association, with
clients like General Motors and Coca Cola, said, "I don't see anyone
pulling out of Africa. Our clients do long-range planning and realize
that there continue to be good investment possibilities on the
continent."
He added, "there will be less of a priority (on business) at this
stage for the Bush administration. A lot of the energies of the
government are going to be focused on in the war effort and the
private sector is going to have to pick-up the slack, which makes the
business Summit we have planned in Philadelphia October 30 to November
2 all the more important."
Hayes referred to the war President Bush declared on international
terrorism after hijackers dove two passenger aircraft into the two
World Trade Center towers in Manhattan. The twin 370-meter tall
skyscrapers became blazing infernos that collapsed less than 2 hours
after being hit. It is estimated that more than 6,000 people are
buried in the 30-meter tall rubble pile left after the assaults.
At about the same time suicidal hijackers crashed a plane into the
Pentagon building, headquarters of U.S. military forces in nearby
Arlington, Virginia leading to approximately 200 deaths. A fourth
hijacked passenger airliner plowed into the Pennsylvania countryside
after what was believed to have been a deadly struggle between
hijackers and passengers. President Bush has said "the evidence" for
the attack "points" to the international terrorist organization al
Qaeda, headed by Saudi-born Muslim extremist Usama Bin Laden.
Hayes emphasized, "Over the long-term I don't think it [the attack] is
going to affect investments in Africa that much."
Asked to comment on how the attacks would affect implementation of the
African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a trade bill passed by
Congress in May 2000, Hayes said "I think that when it comes to
leadership for pushing investment in Africa, the business sector is
going to have to be the major champion at this stage and not the
government."
He added "I don't think the attacks are going to have a great impact
on AGOA, which is a great tool for American corporations to invest in
Africa. However, there may be some immediate effects on slowing down
shipping from Africa to the United States. Also, if we are going into
an economic downturn there may be a general slowdown of purchases from
abroad and this would of course affect the U.S.-African trade
relationship."
The biennial CCA Summit, which CCA had to postpone due the attacks,
"should be stronger than ever," Hayes said. "We've lost no one and
have actually added numbers. We're now up to 1,500 people compared to
the 800 to 1,000 people that we had signed up for the September 16-20
date, including four heads of state who said they would come and my
guess is that we will eventually get between 10 and 15 African
leaders."
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
