Clinton meets Rawlings against protocol arrangement

Former United States president, Bill Clinton who launched the Foundation for Building the Capital of the Poor Monday was locked up in a hushed-hushed diplomatic row prior to his arrival with the Kufuor administration over whether he should meet his pal, former president Rawlings.

While the former American president insisted that a private meeting with Rawlings, host of his first historic visit to Ghana was included on his itinerary, the government and organisers of the event suggested otherwise.

The former American president however had his way, early Monday, when the government conceded to his wish to meet Rawlings and agreed to a meeting with the former president at the plush La Palm Royal Beach Hotel at 2.30 local time?.

The concession came after what diplomatic sources say was Clinton?s cancellation of an elaborate programme drawn for him that included visits to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II at the Manhyia Palace and the Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panyin II at Kyebi.

Sources say prior to the concession, US Embassy officials, had discreetly informed the Rawlings? household of the insistence of the former Democratic President to see him.

Rawlings? Special Aide, Victor Smith confirmed when reached Monday that State Protocol formally informed them of a request by Clinton to meet Rawlings. ?We received the information at 11 am today?, he said.

Smith confirmed that Clinton?s team had earlier informed them that the Kufuor government had misgivings over the American leader?s insistence on meeting Rawlings, because ?it could hurt certain sensibilities?.

But Special Assistant to the Minister for Information and Presidential Affairs, Ferdinand Ayim, denied in a follow-up interview that the government had initially objected to the request by Clinton to meet Rawlings.

?What kind of impression would we be creating to the whole world as democrats??, he asked, saying that the government had been interested in facilitating the meeting between the two former presidents.

Though he confirmed that Clinton was originally scheduled to visit the Asantehene and the Okyenhene, as well as visit the president?s special initiative project on cassava at Bawjiase in the Central Region, he said that was not possible because of time constraints. ?It was also logistically impossible,? he added.

?However, Concord?s checks with diplomatic sources in Accra and at the United Nations in New York, suggested that Clinton communicated his intent to meet Rawlings during his trip following an earlier agreement between him and Rawlings at last month?s UN-sponsored AIDS summit in Barcelona, Spain.

At the time, Rawlings had been making frantic preparations to welcome Clinton unknown to the government and organisers?.

That is, until Clinton subsequently communicated his intent to the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General?s Department, which is responsible for the local chapter of the Foundation for Building the Capital of the Poor, the organization Clinton launched.

When the official programme was communicated to Clinton and he found out that his proposed meeting with ex-president Rawlings had been spiked, he expressed his displeasure.

Disappointed at the turn of events, Clinton last Friday asked government officials and sponsors of the Foundation, UNDP, to make his arrival a very low-key affair in protest over what he perceived as an attempt to censure his movement.

It was also to allow him time to meet Rawlings at a secret location before emplaning for Nigeria, sources say. Yesterday, he had his way, when State Protocol informed Rawlings of the meeting.

In 1998, Bill Clinton, then US president, visited Ghana amidst pomp and pageantry under the auspices of the Rawlings administration. It was the first historic visit by a sitting American president to the West African country.

At the launch of the Foundation itself Monday, Clinton said it is unquestionably wrong for Ghana to be saddled with huge economic problems after 45 years of independence and called on Ghanaians to transform their fortunes if they supported their leadership to pursue the right economic policies.

Speaking as the Guest of Honour at the ceremony, at which President Kufuor launched the Foundation, the charismatic speaker called on Ghanaians to use their cultural differences to facilitate their advancement.

Mr. Clinton said: "You have a good President and a government that understands the direction the world is going, if you support this initiative (Foundation) the future can be better than the past."

The Foundation, modelled on the ideology of Peruvian Economist Hernando de Soto, aims at mobilising the assets held by the poor to facilitate their economic development.

Dr. De Soto promotes the registration and titling of the assets, such as land, real estates and businesses of the poor, for their use as collateral to secure funds for investments. The idea was being implemented successfully in his native Peru, Egypt and elsewhere.

Describing Dr. De Soto's idea as the single most important economic idea on the planet today, Mr. Clinton said poverty could be transformed into prosperity if Ghanaians embraced the change and unleashed the individual's capacity to develop.

He explained that when the poor had clear title to assets or business, it would enable them to borrow money and assist them to create their own banks and lending systems with the propensity to repay the loans. He said this would complement other socio-economic programmes to be pursued by government.

Explaining why he was in Ghana, Mr. Clinton, a Patron of the Foundation said: "I cannot have the world America wants unless Ghanaians and Africans are a part of a genuine global community, where everybody has a real chance to reap its benefits."

While acknowledging that the creation of such a world would be difficult, Mr. Clinton stressed that significant progress would, however, be made if people dwelt not on their differences, but celebrated them in a common humanity to their advantage.

"Our common humanity should matter to us the most. Interdependency is good when you are in good shape, but not beneficial where one survives and the other becomes the loser or dies," he said.

Citing the potential of the bees, ants and termites because of the strength in their unity of purpose, Clinton said individually such creatures were helpless, but together termites were capable of pulling down huge buildings. The former US President said he had planned to visit 33 developing countries throughout the world this year to contribute his quota to their development efforts.

He spoke about some of the socio-economic packages his government assisted Africa with, including the formulation of the African Growth and Opportunities Act, which is being implemented by his successor, President George W. Bush.

"When I left office I had the time to think about the things I care about and to pursue them. When you are in office as a President you try to do what you believe in but you are often over taken by events because different things happen all the time."

Dr. De Soto encouraged the government to be firm in the pursuance of the programme and not to be deterred by the problems that would be created by cultural differences. He said America and the European countries overcame their diversity to prosper and Ghana had the advantage to learn from their experiences.
Referring to Clinton's participation in the programme, he said should the late American President William Jefferson who initiated property reforms two centuries ago in America look up from his grave, he would be pleased that his name sake Clinton was championing that cause in Africa.