09 April 2009
Grandeur of U.S. Vision, Monuments Impresses African Visitor
Benin official makes his first trip to the United States
Washington — “Americans think large as well as build large,” mused Eric Houidjihounde Adja as he rode into the nation’s capital from Dulles Airport in Virginia after flying to the United States from his home in Cotonou, Benin.
Passing the white-columned Lincoln Memorial and the towering obelisk that is the Washington Monument, Adja, the communications adviser and spokesman for Benin President Thomas Yayi Boni, said he was struck by “the large roads, huge monuments and government buildings” that adorn Washington.
“You [Americans] construct monuments to last, but your thinking and vision are also large and long-range,” Adja told America.gov March 20 at the National Press Club.
“So much of African history is oral and therefore limited,” he said, adding, “Our leaders have to start thinking long-range so they can build for future generations.”
Adja, who holds a doctorate degree in linguistics from the University of Paris, also studied in Belgium and Switzerland. He has been the principal spokesman and communications director for Boni for two years.
The official was in a group of 20 communication professionals from 16 African nations that took a three-week tour to examine transparency and good governance in U.S. communities. The March 16-April 3 visit was part of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
NEW APPRECIATION FOR AMERICA’S HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Adja said he felt “privileged to be chosen for the visit by the U.S. Embassy in Cotonou” to learn not only how the U.S. government deals with good governance, ethics and transparency but also “to find out more about America.”
“Your history may not be as old as Europe’s, but there is a historical perspective and spirit here that involves not only a link with the past but also with the future. We see this in the new election of President Obama who, as a black man, connects America’s past with a new, open racial attitude that is almost unique.
“This is what makes America a great nation, a nation with roots in the past but with big branches reaching out to the future,” the African official said.
ETHICS IN U.S. GOVERNMENT
Before departing for visits to North Carolina, Michigan, Louisiana and Oregon, the IVLP group talked with representatives from several U.S. government agencies, including the State Department’s Africa Bureau, the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration and the Office of Government Ethics.
Dan Whitman, deputy director of the Africa Bureau’s Office of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, told the group no country can “afford corruption and the luxury of seeing money disappear into overseas bank accounts. Examples of transparency and good governance are the most important themes you will deal with on this visit.”
Jane Ley, deputy director of the 80-person Office of Government Ethics, told the visitors her agency was established in 1978 to prevent conflicts of interest by government employees and to resolve any conflicts that do occur. “OGE fosters high ethical standards for employees and hopes to strengthen the public’s confidence that the government’s business is conducted with impartiality and integrity,” she said.
The Africans learned that 270,000 officials in the executive branch of the U.S. government must file some form of financial disclosure statement on a regular basis and the U.S. president may not accept a personal gift worth more than $335 from another head of state. All gifts worth more must be given to a federal agency for disposition.
Ley explained that ethics offices are located in all federal agencies and that approximately 6,000 executive-branch employees are involved in carrying out the ethics program, including providing training and advice on the standards of conduct.
Adja, calling President Obama a man “who has dedicated himself to change and more ethical politics,” said that is why he “has captured the imagination of people in my country and elsewhere. Not because he is a black man, but because he represents this American spirit of practical optimism. He is bridging to a brighter future and focused less on the past.”
In North Carolina, the IVLP group met with Yvonne Johnson, the first African-American mayor of Greensboro, and Bob Morgan, Greensboro’s interim city manager. Nearby High Point University sponsored a panel discussion on good governance and corruption. In Portland, Oregon, the African visitors toured the Willamette Week, an alternative newspaper specializing in investigative journalism. During their stay in Detroit, they met with Durene Brown, ombudsman for the city.
“The main lesson I have learned from the various presentations is that good governance is not just a moral recipe, but is a win-win process, which profits both people and their leaders, whereas corruption profits only a limited category of people,” Adja said.
“I have seen that Americans have made great progress as far as transparency is concerned and I have some ideas about how to adapt examples I’ve seen into our local context” in Benin, he said.
Crediting the visits with broadening his perspective, Adja said he has set himself a new goal.
“As I noticed the great number of memorials in Washington, it gave me the idea that the greatness of America is all about the depth of its roots. I'll therefore try to foster reconciliation of the past and the future of Benin, a nation with very important historical roots that could become a solid anchor to our leaders facing current and future challenges,” he said.
