Let Us Change Our Frame of Conversation on Africa - Mahama

The President of the republic of Ghana, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama has called for the world to have a re-look at the way its carries her conversations over Africa. The president made the call when he delivered a talk on “Ghana's Democratic Gains, Economic Change and Regional Influence“ at the Chatham House in London on Friday, 14th June, 2013.

President Mahama was making the case for the spectre at which Africa’s success has been measured and said “by changing the way in which we frame our discussions about Africa, we also change the unrealistic expectations of overnight success and the discouraging notion of failure when those expectations are not immediately met. The lens through which we view Africa must show a realistic depiction of what is actually happening on the continent and how these events are affecting the lives of ordinary people“.

In what seemed as a lamentable account on Africa, President Mahama was emphatic on what the world had perceived Africa for in past centuries. In furtherance to his observation, President Mahama said, “Throughout the centuries, Africa has existed in the world’s imagination in myriad ways. We have been depicted as a ‘dark continent’, a den of exotic diseases, an annex of adventure and safari. We have been cast in a fairy tale of freedom, one in which the attainment of independence was thought to proffer a happy ending. We have been painted as the perpetually impoverished land, the place of political upheaval, the place where everything bad can and usually does happen. We have been patronized by the media, by donors and by aid organizations“.

Speaking on Ghana’s success gained through the new adventure of democracy, economic enhancement and regional influence on the continent, president Mahama explained, Ghana’s perseverance has enabled her to achieve the recognition of being amongst the top 10 fastest economy in the world. In the light of an enhanced GDP of $34 billion in 2012 as compared to $18.7 billion in 2006, president Mahama was very clear about the challenges facing his country.

President Mahama highlighted that, Ghana is currently battling to contain the challenges associated with fast-growing population, which includes among others the challenge of creating sustainable jobs to curb the rise of youth unemployment and the rapid expansion of an infrastructure that is no longer able to adequately serve the capacity of the nation.

The president also took turns to account some of the successive story recorded in recent years. For instance, president Mahama accounted that, Ghana had been able to reduce the amount of poverty and under nourishment to single digit percentage. Comparing between 1990 to 2012, Ghana has been able to reduce prevalence of under nourishment from 34% from 1990 to about 5% in 2012. This success has been recognised by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization with an award for meeting the Millennium Development Goal of reducing hunger and under nourishment, the president stated.

President Mahama also shared another success story of Ghana to his audience. He sated that, Ghana’s combat on maternal death as shown some significant success with available data indicating 300 deaths per 100,000 in 2012, as compared to figures of 600 deaths per 100,000 in 2000. Currently, with the per capita income of about $1 ,500 and an average life expectancy of 62 years, Ghana has responded to improvement as compared to the figures available beginning the new millennium.

President Mahama explained that, the journey of Ghana’s on going success story has been steady and continues to involve around many facet of contributory factors which cannot be understated. The democratic journey has played a significant part to this gain and it is hopeful that, Ghana will continue to lead from the front to meet the aspirations of her citizens and the continent.

By: Ken Osagyefo, GFM Radio: London