Rocker, Republican go to Africa

ACCRA, Ghana -- It's the Rocker and the Republican, on Africa Cliche-Breaking Tour 2002.

Singer Bono and Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill embarked Tuesday on a four-nation odyssey: Bono, bent on convincing O'Neill, that Africa puts Western development aid to good use.

"I come here to learn," promised O'Neill, who was talked into the trip by the Irish singer.

Bono and O'Neill, in an equally to-type gray suit, set the tone for the 10-day trip from the first stop Tuesday -- a gleaming high-tech center in Ghana's capital, Accra.

O'Neill watched approvingly as young Ghanaian women input data for the U.S.-based firm ACS-BPS.

Bono and O'Neill listened attentively as company president Tom Blodgett answered questions about the workers' pay and benefits.