From Holden:

President All-Talk-No-Action got some feedback yesterday.

The leaders of five African nations have confronted President George W. Bush over the slowness of aid to poor nations and received a pledge to speed it up.

The presidents of Botswana, Ghana, Mozambique, Namibia and Niger visited Bush at the White House on Monday as part of the administration’s effort to promote democracy and economic development in Africa and to highlight the policies it has pursued to reduce poverty and disease there.

The leaders, whose countries conducted democratic elections last year, generally praised the United States for trying to do more for Africa. But they said they had been disappointed that the administration had not done more to accelerate disbursements of aid through the Millennium Challenge Account, the White House’s primary channel for dispensing money to poor countries that show commitment to democracy.

Until Monday, only one country, Madagascar, had won final approval for aid under the program. On Monday afternoon, the United States approved a second country, Honduras.

[snip]

The African leaders “complained bitterly” about the slow pace of the talks and the disbursement of money, President Festus Mogae of Botswana told reporters. He said Bush assured them the United States would resolve the delays.