Pompeo blasts corruption, promotes U.S. business in Africa trip

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* Top U.S. diplomat on first tour of Africa
* White House has criticised China's role in Africa
* Some Africans questioning U.S. commitment

LUANDA, Feb 17 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo denounced corruption and touted American business on
Monday during the second leg of an African tour in Angola, where
the government is seeking to claw back billions of dollars
looted from state coffers.
Pompeo is aiming to promote U.S. investment as an
alternative to Chinese loans while assuaging concerns over a
planned U.S military withdrawal and the expansion of visa
restrictions targeting four African countries.
In Angola's capital Luanda, Pompeo met with President Joao
Lourenco, who took office in 2017 promising wide-ranging
economic reforms and a crackdown on the endemic graft that
marked his predecessor Jose Eduardo dos Santos' four-decade
rule.
"Here in Angola, damage from corruption is pretty clear," he
told a group of businessmen following that meeting. "This reform
agenda that the president put in place has to stick."
Portugal's public prosecutor has ordered the seizure of bank
accounts belonging to Isabel dos Santos, the former president's
billionaire daughter, who is a suspect in an Angolan fraud
investigation. Reputedly the richest woman in Africa, she has repeatedly
denied any wrongdoing.
Angola, with sub-Saharan Africa's third-largest economy and
its second-largest oil producer is ranked as one of the world's
most corrupt nations, in 165th place on a list of 180 countries,
according to anti-corruption group Transparency International.
U.S. oil majors Exxon Mobil XOM.N and Chevron CVX.N have
significant stakes in Angolan oil fields.
Last year, Chevron signed onto a consortium to develop
Angola's natural gas assets alongside Italy's Eni ENI.MI ,
France's Total TOTF.PA , BP BP.L and Angolan state oil
company Sonangol. "We've got a group of energy companies that have put more
than $2 billion in a natural gas project. That will rebound to
the benefit of the American businesses for sure, but to the
Angolan people for sure as well," Pompeo said.
Despite U.S. investments, the bulk of Angola's oil
production is destined for China, which holds the lion's share
of Angolan foreign debt.
The Trump administration has accused China of predatory
lending in Africa, where Beijing has loaned governments billions
of dollars for infrastructure projects in exchange for access to
natural resources. China rejects the criticism.
With a revamped International Development Finance
Corporation and its new Prosper Africa trade and investment
strategy, the administration is seeking to combat Chinese
influence on the continent.
But the push comes as some governments are questioning U.S.
President Donald Trump's commitment to Africa.
The White House last month tightened visa restrictions on
nationals from Sudan, Tanzania, Eritrea and Nigeria.
West African governments are also worried about a proposed
U.S. troop withdrawal from the region just as Islamist groups
with links to Islamic State and al Qaeda are gaining ground.
During the first leg of his African trip in Senegal on
Sunday, Pompeo sought to put some of those fears to rest.
"We have an obligation to get security right here, in the
region. It's what will permit economic growth, and we're
determined to do that," he told reporters.