FEATURE: Ghana's New President Holds Powwow .....

....With Ghanaians in Washington, D.C.: Urges Them to Return Home With Their Know How, Work Ethic

By R. Y. Adu-Asare
www.AfricaNewscast.com
Washington, D.C.

Ghana's President John Agyekum Kufuor, accompanied by three senior members of his cabinet, told a large gathering of Ghanaians in Washington, D.C. that the New Patriotic Party, NPP, is determined to build a different Ghana.

At the late night homecoming meeting with Ghanaians, Pres. Kufuor said, "We want to use the very limited term of four years to show there is a government and there is a government." This sentiment received adulation and catcalls from the enthusiastic crowd.

Kufuor received the wildest applause when he told Ghanaians living abroad that "dual citizenship is possible in two months, so that you can vote wherever you are; it is not a privilege, it is your right." Pres. Kufuor declared, "If you make a contribution to Ghana, you deserve to demand accountability."

Speaking to Ghanaians at the Ghana embassy Wednesday, June 27, Pres. Kufuor told the teaming crowd overflowing a large hall that the business of his administration is "to recover our economy within a democratic process."

Before delivering his main remarks, Pres. Kufuor informed the audience that Accra, Ghana's capital, was over flooded. He said, "Accra was cut off from the rest of the country." The risk of floods in Accra has been common knowledge for the past 35 years.

Kufuor indicated that he and his entourage were in the United States for an UN-sponsored HIV-AIDS conference in New York City. He said they were scheduled to visit the White House, the U.S. Treasury Department and the World Bank. It is fair to assume that the president and his entourage would visit the U.S. State Department but the same cannot be said for a visit to the United States Trade Representative's, USTR, Office.

United States foreign trade policy-makers take the failure or refusal of African leaders to visit the USTR's Office as an indication of disinterest in expanding trade relations with the country.

Commenting on the economic performance and outlook of his five-month old government, Kufuor said, "When we came to power we knew things were going to be difficult, but not as difficult as we found it. "The national treasury was empty," Kufuor pointed out.

In spite of the reality of the decrepit state of Ghana's economy inherited by his government, Kufuor said, "However, as soon as we came to power people were expecting heaven on Earth. "But the men and women I put together were able to put a budget together within three months, as required by the constitution."

Pres. Kufuor revealed that "On the eve of the budget the cabinet resolved to join HIPC [Highly Indebted Poor Countries]". HIPC is an IMF program whereby qualified countries that met certain economic guidelines benefited from reduced payment on outstanding debts. There was a flood of criticism in Ghana against the decision to join the HIPC program, especially from Ghanaians who did not think their country is poor.

Kufuor explained that "The money was not there to do all the things that needed to be done, including provision of education and healthcare; hence the decision to join HIPC." He said, "All these had to be done in a democratic atmosphere, because the people were demanding accountability."

In the economic decision-making arena, Kufuor said, "For us to be able to do the work well, we have imposed rectitude on ourselves [i.e., his cabinet members], because corruption is rife in the country."

Kufuor said his government has made some hard decisions. "We removed subsidies from petrol and raised the cost of utilities such as water supply and electricity. It is the responsibility of this government to spread good water throughout the country."

On economic policy actions, Kufuor said his government has been "self-restrained in expenditure." He indicated that within five months, the value of Ghana's currency, the cedi, is stabilizing. "People have recognized the change that is occurring," Pres. Kufuor opined.

According to Kufuor, faith in his government's economic program is indicated by the fact that a number of creditor nations, especially in Europe, have started canceling debts owed by Ghana. "This means we are saving the transfers we had to do to cover debt repayments," Kufuor pointed out.

Pres. Kufuor explained that the direction of his government's economic actions is based on a "tripod theory or philosophy", embodied in the introduction of microeconomic policies with government cutting on borrowing. "This will free capital for the private sector. We believe in private sector development."

Another constituent element of his government's "tripod theory/philosophy" is to support agriculture. "We want to take the lead to help our farmers to shift towards commercial farming," Kufuor indicated. He intimated, "We have taken those steps so that we can carry out the vision of the government."

Pres. Kufuor was quick to point out that "We need foreign partners, of course, but when the foreigners come, Ghanaians must be prepared."

Kufuor called on Ghanaians living abroad to go back home with their know how and work ethic. "We want to inspire you to look homeward," the president implored. Citing financial contribution to Ghana's economy from its citizens abroad, Kufuor said, "We will continue to need your support. We believe you never forget your motherland."

Pres. Kufuor told his fellow Ghanaians, "We are counting on you because you live in the center of the of the world, United States is essentially the center of the world."

In the foreign policy area, Pres. Kufuor said, "We are developing good relations with our neighbors in West Africa. Nigeria, Togo and Ivory Coast are all friends." He explained that it has become necessary for Ghana to be friendly with its neighbors in West Africa "because there is a potential market for 200 million people."

Pres. Kufuor noted that almost all the countries around Ghana have discovered oil and quipped, "We have to be nice to them before we find our oil, so they will be nice to us." According to Pres. Kufuor, because of Ghana's cordial relations with its neighbors, it took only his signature for Nigeria to release oil for the country when it had only six days supply the day his government took office.

In the political sphere, Kufuor said of Ghana that "For 20 long years a lot of people lived like sub-humans. People were afraid to express their opinions. The system did not support individual initiative."

One of the essential highlights of the Ghana powwow in Washington, D. C. took place when the three senior cabinet ministers accompanying Pres. Kufuor took turns to address the crowd. "Senior Prefect" Hon. J. H. Mensah, MP (NPP-Sunyani), Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, had no problem shifting into his tenacious political activist mode when he led his colleagues to make brief remarks to raucous applause.

"We want you just to do a little thing for Ghana, to make it a little different from what it has been," Hon. J. H. Mensah asked of Ghanaians living abroad. In an atmosphere punctuated by catcalls and NPP campaign slogans, the veteran politician, J. H. Mensah, told his admirers, "You have given your confidence to a new group of people and you should expect a lot from them. We want to show the world we have a government in Ghana you can do business with."

At the close of his remarks, J. H. Mensah pre-empted Hon. Osafo-Marfo, MP (NPP-Akim-Oda) by announcing, "Our Minister of Finance has just finished negotiations with the IMF. Change has come to Ghana."

Touting his successful negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, IMF, Ghana's Minister of Finance, Yaw Osafo-Marfo, blurted out, "The measures we have taken are yielding dividends through revenue enhancement and reduction of government expenditure. Our program is credible, the full board of the IMF has approved our program."

"I took Ghana to HIPC and will take Ghana out of HIPC. A very credible economic management team has been put together by Pres. Kufuor," Osafo-Marfo boasted.

After Osafo-Marfo's technocratic stomp speech, interspersed with hard economic indicators, Hon. Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, Ghana's Minister for Foreign Affairs, followed with a short election campaign style speech. He invoked "the Grace of God for giving Ghana J. A. Kufuor, who has lifted some weight off our shoulders." The Minister for Foreign Affairs assured Ghanaians that "The country is secure, the other noises you hear, forget them. J. A. Kufuor will never deceive you."

Another highlight of the night at the Ghana embassy in Washington occurred when the floor was open for a question and answer session. Amid commotion, the Ghana delegation was able to field eight questions leaving other potential questioners disappointed. A question about former President Jerry Rawlings' reported anti-government, insulting and vituperative, utterances in Ghana, set the crowd almost into a frenzy mood.

There was near pandemonium in the meeting hall when a female attendee screamed, "discipline him, discipline him," with obvious demand for Kufuor's government to discipline former Pres. Rawlings. The questioner who brought up the Jerry Rawlings' factor, made reference to Ghana's late Pres. Hilla Limann whose government was overthrown, militarily, by Jerry Rawlings and his henchmen on Dec. 31, 1981. As a result of Limann's ouster, Jerry Rawlings held on to political power in Ghana for 19 years.

There is no question that the crowd at the Ghana embassy to listen to Pres. Kufuor was ready for Jerry Rawlings' head, so to speak.

In response to the question about Jerry Rawlings, J. H. Mensah observed, "Rawlings has not gotten used to the fact that he is no longer president; but he will get use to it. But the law is the law."

J. H. Mensah said, "Pres. Kufuor will not answer to Rawlings, the people of Ghana will. The NDC must learn to behave like a loyal opposition." He quipped further, "There are always madmen in the world, we have to deal with a madman when he behaves like a madman."

Other questions to the presidential delegation from Ghanaians in Washington included issues about customer service, especially at the ports of entry; police service, drunk driving and sanitation. The Ministers answered the questions satisfactorily, which means Ghanaians living abroad can expect to see change in their motherland the next time they visit or return to stay.

At the end of Pres. Kufuor's speech, Daniel Agyekum, a Ghanaian resident of Virginia commented, "This is called a state of the union address."

There was an emotional atmosphere when, spontaneously, Ghanaians sang the national anthem of their motherland, in the absence of the recorded version, either by accident or negligence.

Please submit all comments and questions to: asare@erols.com