President John Dramani Mahama: Ghana will not be used to destabilise any country

User Rating:  / 0

Details

Parent Category: Main

Category: Special Reports

Created on Wednesday, 26 September 2012 00:00

Hits: 3050

President John Dramani Mahama: Ghana will not be used to destabilise any country

STATEMENT BY H.E. PRESIDENT JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA TO THE 67TH SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY [26th SEPTEMBER 2012]

Mr. President,

Mr. Secretary General,

Your Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

{sidebar id=11 align=right}In accordance with Ghanaian tradition and custom, I would like to begin with a basic but essential courtesy- to express, on behalf of the government and people of my beloved country, our deepest gratitude and most profound appreciation to the United Nations, and to the numerous world leaders who mourned with us following the sudden and untimely death of our former president, Professor John Evans Atta Mills.

Ghanaians were touched by the many heartfelt messages of condolence and glowing tributes that poured in from all over the globe. Those messages of goodwill strengthened us and enabled us to transcend the adversities of an occurrence that was unprecedented in the history of Ghana.

Professor Mills was a dedicated and honourable statesman. He committed himself to bringing about an improvement not only in the lives of Ghanaians but also in the lives of all other Africans and indeed the lives of individuals throughout the world. His death was a significant loss and I am certain that he will be sorely missed by the international community.

{sidebar id=10 align=right}With the first-hand knowledge of what it means for a nation to lose its leader, I want to also take this opportunity, on behalf of all Ghanaians, to extend condolences to the people of Ethiopia, Malawi and Guinea Bissau who also suffered the untimely demise of their sitting presidents. May the souls of these great men who gave so selflessly and helped to move our nations forward rest in perfect peace.

One of the lessons that I learnt from the tragedy of Professor Mills’ death—and it is a lesson worth sharing—is that it is during times such as these, times of great sorrow and pain, that we often reveal the very essence of who we are. This is as true of nations as it is of individuals. Over the past few months, Ghanaians have shown ourselves to be resilient, to be respectful of the values that promote peace and the institutions that safeguard the stability of our democracy.

In our process of healing, we have become more united and more determined to stay the course that we began in 1957 when we became the first sub-Saharan African nation to gain independence.

In the process of healing, we have become more confident than ever before in our ability to create a Better Ghana for our children.

Today’s assembly of heads of state is being held at a most critical time. Our world is being confronted with a number of significant challenges. War, conflict and strife are very much features of human existence. Poverty, disease, and famine continue to cripple the lives of many. Oppression, discrimination, illiteracy and unemployment still stifle the potential and shatter the hopes of millions.

Though examples of such conditions can be found on every continent, for a while, whether rightly or wrongly, they seemed to be automatically and primarily associated with Africa. Perhaps this is why it gives me such great pleasure to lead my address to the 67th Regular Session of the United Nations General Assembly with news of progress from Ghana, and stories of success from the African continent. Today, Africa boasts some of the fastest-growing economies in the world, with Ghana being one of them. The number of countries engaged in conflict is steadily decreasing year after year.

And as that happens, we are also witnessing a steady increase in the number of countries that are governed along democratic lines. As is true of all new democracies, these systems are not without their flaws. And while they may not be perfect, they are promising.

In fact, three of the African countries that lost their leaders this year—Ethiopia, Malawi and, of course, Ghana—experienced seamless and peaceful constitutional transitions of power to their new leadership.

You see, today, right now, there is something spectacular happening in Africa. Growth is taking the place of stagnation; tranquility is taking the place of turmoil; democratic governance, founded on the rule of law, is taking the place of dictatorship.

There is no denying the visibility and the viability of these significant developments. At the very least, they require an examination of long-held views and misconceptions about the African continent. These developments must also find expression in the manner in which developed nations relate to Africa.

In many ways, this is already taking place, but the shift has only just begun. There is still much room for improvement, but I am inspired by what I see, which are limitless possibilities for Africa and its engagement with the rest of the world.

As the United Nations Human Development Index will attest, we in Ghana have made tremendous strides in a number of areas with the aim of improving the living conditions of our people.

Ghana is on track to achieve the targets set under the Millennium Development Goals. Significant progress has been made in the following areas: reducing extreme poverty, gender parity in school enrolment, universal primary education, provision of safe drinking water and the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Unemployment is a challenge that exists on a global scale. Nearly all nations, be they developed or developing, are grappling with finding ways to tackle this potential threat to their economic stability.

In Ghana, we are attempting to deal with this problem as aggressively and as effectively as possible by finding solutions that are long-term and sustainable. This includes a program we will launch to encourage young people become entrepreneurs and through that become employers rather than employees.

In Africa, to say that the youth are our future is slightly misleading. Nearly 65% of the continent’s entire population is below the age of 35. Our youth are not only our future; they are also our present.

In Ghana, we have been working assiduously to empower and support our youth to ensure that they will not be left behind in the fast-changing global economic, educational and social priorities.

Government is implementing several social protection programmes across various sectors to cushion the poor and vulnerable and to ensure that the fruits of our economic growth are distributed equitably.

Under these programmes, massive investments have been and are still being made in education; health; modernisation of agriculture; social infrastructure and direct payments to poorest households.

In furtherance of our battle against HIV/AIDS, a new 5 year national strategic plan has been launched to consolidate the gains that have already been made in reducing the prevalence of the disease. Under this new plan our target is to achieve a virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission and to expand access to anti-retroviral therapy for persons living with HIV/AIDS.

Government has committed 150 million Ghana cedis (the equivalent of 80 million dollars) as its contribution to the financing of this new strategic plan. That is not enough. We are now finding ourselves in a rather ironic situation, one that is threatening the advances we’ve made thus far.

Ghana, like several other developing countries that have made remarkable headway in combating this disease, is becoming a victim of its own success. As the numbers associated with the disease-- rates of infection and mortality--, go down, so too do the figures in the global funding for HIV/AIDS programmes. This leaves a considerable financing gap for many African countries, such as Ghana, that are trying not only to maintain their progress, but also move closer to complete eradication.

In 1992 under the constitution of its fourth republic, Ghana established itself as a multi-party democracy.

Since then, we have held five successful elections that have resulted in the smooth transfer of power from one democratically chosen leader to another. When it comes to transparency in the electoral exercise, Ghana is, in fact, held up as an example of excellence.

We are just a few weeks away from conducting our sixth successive presidential and parliamentary election. As president, I wish to assure the international community that this election will be free and fair and peaceful. I am so certain of our stability through this process that I extend a warm welcome to any individual or organization that would like to come and monitor our elections.

This commitment to peace that I have pledged in the past and am pledging anew today is in keeping with a longstanding tradition that Ghana has established domestically and internationally. In the 1960s when Ghana deployed 8,800 soldiers to the former Congo Leopoldville, now the Democratic Republic of Congo, it became the first African country to participate in a UN Peacekeeping mission.

Since then Ghana has continued to be an active and key partner in the UN’s Peacekeeping programme and was recently ranked among the top ten largest contributors of personnel to peacekeeping operations over the years. Currently we have troops in 5 peacekeeping theatres throughout the world.

Ghana’s consistent championing of peace is neither accidental nor coincidental. Rather, it is by design and by determination. We have always recognized that peace is critical to development and to the overall improvement and enrichment of people’s lives. It’s no wonder then that in 1961 when U.S. President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps, its very first mission was in Ghana.

In the past two decades, Ghana’s position on peace has been tested again and again as the West African sub-region was ravaged by one civil war after another. However, we have held firm to that position and will continue to do so.

Because Ghana wishes to co-exist harmoniously with all of our neighbours, when legislating policy we are ever-conscious of the importance of peace; When offering asylum or a safe haven to refugees, we are ever-protective of our borders, making certain that political conflicts and ethnic tensions do not cross over onto our soil.

The unfolding tensions in Cote d’Ivoire and Mali have been, and continue to be, of particular concern. Ghana will not allow its territory to be used to destabilize other nations. We will not be the storehouse of any resources or weapons that will be used to disrupt the peace and development of another nation. We will not harbour any individuals or groups whose intent is to utilize Ghana as a base of operation to undermine the safety and security of another nation.

We will work under the ECOWAS protocol and utilise whatever other tools of diplomacy are at our disposal to ensure that security is restored to Mali and Cote d’Ivoire and that they find a place alongside their fellow African countries in the continent’s forward march towards prosperity.

Ghana has a strong belief in the universal declaration of human rights. Under the principle of self-determination of people, Ghana was the first sub-Saharan country to emerge from colonial domination.

“The independence of Ghana is meaningless,” proclaimed Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, our nation’s founding father, “unless it is linked with the total liberation of the African continent.”

In keeping with this right of self-determination, we wish to restate our support for an independent, prosperous Palestinian state, co-existing peacefully with a free, stable Israeli state.

We also reiterate our opposition to the continuous blockade on Cuba and call for an immediate lifting of the embargo.

The 21st century is fast being described as the century for Africa. Last year, of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world, 6 were African. Ghana, my own country, posted one of the highest GDP growth rates, with a final outturn of 14%. Foreign direct investment amounted to some 1.5 billion dollars in various sectors.

This type of sustained growth, in combination with security and democracy can only ensure an Africa that will bear no resemblance to the ghost of its former self. An Africa where we create equal opportunities for women to realize their full potential, and where there is respect for the rights of all human beings.

This new Africa will wean itself off of handouts and humanitarian relief. It will not continue to succumb to the corruption and oppression of despots. This new Africa will stand on the world stage as a mutual partner.

True partnership, of course, must be based on equality. When the founding fathers of the United Nations established the Security Council some 66 years ago, it was based on the reality of the time.

Almost seven decades later, the paradigms and dynamics that existed then have shifted dramatically. The lines that divided our world and categorized it into hierarchies of first and third, the lines that were drawn by settlers transforming once-sovereign lands into colonies and territories, all of these boundaries have now been blurred. Technology has made information more immediately accessible to the general public, and individuals more accessible to one another.

The world that we know today is not the same world our fathers and grandfathers knew. Our world is smaller, more integrated and familiar. The current realities call for greater inclusion to consolidate our common security. They inform Ghana’s stand for an expansion of the Security Council to admit more members in order to make a meaningful impact on the many challenges that we all face.

Africa is ready for that true and sincere partnership.

Our time has come.

Thank You, Mr. President.

Source: The Presidency

No comments

FOUNDER’S DAY Is CPP Day Of Action

• | Print |
•  Email

Details

Parent Category: Main

Category: Special Reports

Created on Thursday, 20 September 2012 00:00

Hits: 4389

FOUNDER’S DAY Is CPP Day Of Action

One hundred and three (103) years ago, a child was born - Francis Nwia-Kofi in Nkroful, Gold Coast. That child grew to become Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and the flame of hope he lit on the African continent still burns.

He became “Africa’s Man of the Millennium”.

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah led the CPP in the anti-colonial struggle of liberation, unity and development of Ghana and Africa with a clear ideological vision and programme to build Ghana, within a liberated, united and democratic Africa, and into a vibrant economic power.

o It was Kwame Nkrumah who began the move to dismantle colonial rule in Africa.

o He advocated Pan-Africanism, to fight neo-colonialism on the continent.

{sidebar id=11 align=right} o He was the architect of the founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU).

o He became a symbol of hope and emancipation for Blacks and all oppressed peoples everywhere in the world.

o Nkrumah believed that it was only through industrialization that Ghana and the rest of independent Africa could catch up with the developed nations of the world.

{sidebar id=10 align=right}o He built factories and industries in Ghana, the Tema Harbour, new roads, and expanded the Civil Service.

o He constructed the Akosombo Dam to provide electricity both for Ghana and the neighboring states.

o He broke the monopoly of the multinational corporations in the Ghanaian economy, through nationalization policies. He created more jobs in the economy and increased wages.

o He built new hospitals and pipe-borne water

o He encouraged and financed sports to introduce Ghana to the world.

o Africans took charge of their own affairs and reclaimed their dignity in the world

o He maintained the colonial educational structures geared towards European degrees and values.

o He introduced free basic education for all children in Ghana by abolishing school fees at this level.

o He expanded education by building more schools to increase enrollments.

o He built teacher colleges to train teachers for the schools.

o He built several secondary schools (high schools).

o He built three universities: The University of Ghana, Cape Coast University, and the University of Science & Technology.

The list of achievements is endless but we note that successive governments since the 24th February 1966 overthrow of the CPP government have singularly and spectacularly failed to provide the same vision and programme directed towards improving the living standards and cultural and spiritual needs of Ghanaians.

Today Ghana stands at a decisive crossroad; a crossroad with policy failings in all our national life under the political governance of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) before it.

Their governments have manifestly failed to raise the living standards and conditions of the majority. Their rule has benefitted a privileged few, billions of cedis is being spent on Ministerial Cars, billions of cedis acquired corruptly through questionable procurement practices, billions more go to waste and financial irregularity, free privileges including fuel continues to be enjoyed by national and regional Ministers whilst the majority of Ghanaians are asked to be patient and to hope against hope for a better Ghana.

Each had come to power on the back of public disenchantment with corruption, economic mismanagement, and political misrule. The central question many are asking is thus: should Ghana continue to follow the same failed path of NPP/NDC governments under whom the economy of Ghana and the political policy of the Ghanaian State has been, and continues to be heavily dependent?

Evidence on the ground demonstrates conclusively that Ghanaians are yearning for liberation from the NDC-NPP. We are thus presented with a golden opportunity to recapture political power and transform the fortunes of all Ghanaians.

On the occasion of the 103th Anniversary of the Founder’s Birth, let us all remember the essence of the struggle for freedom, the struggle for self-determination, Nkrumaist development and unitarism. Let us remind ourselves that Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s philosophy and ideology has living roots in Ghanaian life and Ghanaian society today- the equal treatment of all religions in the nation he founded, the equality of all human beings whether Christian, Moslem or Traditionalist, the principle of human and ethnic equality.

To mark the occasion the CPP has organised a “Day of Action” - taking the party’s “Ghana Must Work Again” message to the community, as part of the CPP’s community based campaign.

The Party’s Presidential Candidate Dr Abu Sakara and Leading members in the north will campaign in Tamale.

The Party Chair, Hon Samia Yaba Nkrumah and leading members in the South will campaign in Tema East and Okaikoi South.

Party members in the other Regions have organised community events in their regions.

CPP Youth will be on a “Clean-up Exercise” in Kaneshie.

The observation of the Day within the community will also pay tribute to the heroic forebears of the Nkrumaist tradition, who sacrificed so much to redeem Ghana from the clutches of colonialism and to point to community and progressive activism as the weapon of choice against neo-colonial enslavement.

The party will urge the youth to rededicate themselves to the struggle for economic liberation of Ghana and the continent.

The CPP will be saluting all fallen heroes, sons and daughters who fought for Ghana's independence.

May God Our Father, Allah the Ever Compassionate and Ever Merciful and All Our Ancestors bless us all on Founder’s Day.

Ghana Must Work Again ………….Yabre!!!!

Nii Armah Akomfrah

Source: Director of Communication, CPP

No comments

Reject Bribes! – JJ Tells Volta Chiefs

User Rating:  / 0

Details

Parent Category: Main

Category: Special Reports

Created on Saturday, 22 September 2012 00:00

Hits: 3205

Reject Bribes! – JJ Tells Volta Chiefs

Former President Jerry John Rawlings has urged chiefs in the Volta Region to continue to reject all forms of inducements from people seeking to gain political power.

According to him, financial and other forms of inducements, when allowed, could destroy their dignity and strip them of the respect and reverence they carried before their people and the rest of the world.

{sidebar id=11 align=right}Former President Rawlings gave this advice when he met the chiefs at an emergency meeting of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs last Wednesday. Queen mothers were also highly represented.

Former President Rawlings noted that the changing times of the world had subjected various offices, including that of the chief, to incessant financial influence.

Furthermore, people would come under the guise of modernization with all forms of assistance which sometimes caught the chiefs off guard, he said, adding that it was important that the chiefs continued to stand their ground to protect the dignity of their office and consolidate the respect they commanded.

{sidebar id=10 align=right}He commended the chiefs for repelling such influences, noting however that sometimes, “there are some who fall prey to it. If anybody wants to provide some financial inducement or to assist, it will have to be done properly without undermining the dignity of your throne, your chieftaincy”.

He added that “respect is extremely important. How much in the changing times have this country been going through over the last 10 or more years? How much of the changing times have respect not been replaced with money?”

Mr Rawlings advised that since the chiefs were the ones seeing some of these changes, they shouldn’t let them undermine their office.

“You are the ones who are watching the changes that are taking place. Some of you can accommodate the changes from westernization and so on and so forth. But none of this must be made to go to the extent of undermining your dignity.”

Hardships

He lamented over the current sufferings across the country, saying, “People who have no business having strokes have been suffering from strokes for the past 10 years and over, due to the hardships and indignity they are suffering.” The only explanation to this, he said, was “the hardships and pressure in their minds and their heart”.

He also expressed worry over the kind of anxiety and desperation in the actions of the NDC government which made them take desperate decisions and actions at the displeasure of the masses.

He made reference to the disruption and attacks on demonstrators in the country, wondering what had gone amiss. “When your children decided to go on a peaceful demonstration on an issue, people sitting in Accra were so scared that it could spark an Arab Spring so they unleashed the police on them, to demonstrate to the whole country that nothing of such nature will be countenanced.”

Mr. Rawlings wondered why the government was relying on John Mahama and him (Rawlings) to convince themselves that all was well. “Now we don’t appear frightened anymore because John Mahama has ignited a situation. Rawlings has appeared at Kumasi so it has ignited some positivity.”

He added that “assuming we were to lose and to go into opposition, what have we done, while we are in office to make sure that the security we are enjoying when in office will also prevail when we are not in office?”

“Whether we stay in government or leave government we should not feel vulnerable or unsecure because that is what true democracy is all about,” he stressed.

He also expressed worry over the kind of recruitments being made in the security services, which according to him had belittled the standard and respect for the services.

He said, “The security service is now a place of employment and not people with the passion to be soldiers. So know (that) when you commit this sort of thing under your own regime and you are not investigating it, how can you investigate the Mobilla cases? You are back to square one.”

Mr Rawlings expressed worry over the deep-seated corruption in the ruling government.

According to the NDC founder, corruption was so deep that it had literally held the resources of the country to ransom; and only a handful of people were enjoying while the majority of the people were suffering.

He said: “The corruption that is going on is so deep. Some aspects of these corruptions are literally holding your national resources to ransom by just a hand full of people. I’m not here to poison your minds at all.”

He wondered why the NDC had done little to avert the situation and yet was ready to turn a blind eye to it for fear of the opposition NPP.

He stated that if the situation could not be salvaged in the last three years, what was the guarantee that it would be curbed in the future?

Source: Fred Duodu, Ho/D-Guide

No comments

President Mahama Arrives In Togo On The "Thank You Tour"

User Rating:  / 0

Details

Parent Category: Main

Category: Special Reports

Created on Friday, 07 September 2012 00:00

Hits: 3217

Ingabire trial verdict postponed

President John Dramani Mahama on Thursday announced that Ghana would continue to cement its relations with its neighbors, in the West African sub-region, in the areas of security and the provision of social amenities.

{sidebar id=11 align=right}He said areas of collaboration would continue to include water supply, energy, piracy and the maintenance of peace and security in the West African coastline.

President Mahama announced this when he paid a day’s courtesy call on President Faure Gnassingbe at the Northern city of Niamatougou, in Togo.

The President’s visit formed part of his sub-regional tour he began on Wednesday to thank Presidents and people for their contribution and visit during the final funeral rites of late President John Evans Atta Mills over a month ago.

He was accompanied by Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mrs Juliana Azumah Mensah, Women and Children Affairs, Lt Colonel Gbevlo Lartey( rtd), National Security Coordinator, Victor Gbeho, former Minister of State and Alhaji Baba Kamara, Ghana High Commissioner to Nigeria amongst other dignitaries.

President Mahama who had earlier visited the Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso on Wednesday received a rousing welcome from the military and thousands of drummers and dancers who displayed all kinds of traditional dances of the Republic of Togo in honour of the President.

He was later driven to the Presidential palace at Pya, 10 kilometres from the Niamatougou Airport, where he held a closed door meeting with President Gnassingbe.

Addressing Journalists after the discussions, President Mahama said Ghana and Togo had initiated a water project at Sogakope, in the Volta Region of Ghana, where treated water would be supplied to Togolese communities along the Volta Region.

He said the governments of Ghana and Togo would in the second week of September hold a conference in Accra to discuss bilateral relations and ways to combat piracy on their territorial waters and to enhance incident-free activities at the coastlines.

President Mahama said energy was also a major area of collaboration between the two West African countries and called for the respect for the West African protocols among member countries in the sub-region.

Source: Liveghanaonline.com

No comments