Quotable: You cannot eat democracy

Want to know why China is finding it so easy to make inroads in Africa? Here's what Serge Mombouli, the Republic of Congo's ambassador to the United States, told NPR's Tom Gljelten recently:

Tangible development means you can see, you can touch," Mombouli says. "We need both. We cannot be talking just about democracy, transparency, good governance. At the end of the day the population does not have anything to eat, does not have water to drink, no electricity at night, industry to provide work, so we need both. People do not eat democracy."