WASHINGTON - U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, along with rock singer Bono, will visit Ghana and three other African nations in May to assess the efficiency of development aid and to push for greater economic productivity, the Treasury Department said Tuesday. O'Neill begins his African visit on May 20 in Ghana and will include stops in South Africa, Uganda and Ethiopia before returning to Washington on May 31.
Treasury said that O'Neill was pleased that Bono "will also be in Africa for much of this itinerary," reflecting the Irish-born singer's intense interest in increasing aid to the world's poorest countries.
O'Neill will travel to Bucharest, Romania, just before the African trip to participate in meetings of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
He concludes the African visit in Ethiopia, where the U.S. treasury chief will attend the annual meeting of the African Development Bank.
O'Neill's and Bono's African trip is to be sprinkled with visits to a variety of development projects, ranging from some aimed at improving water supplies and sanitation to HIV/AIDS treatment centers.
