Annan's Day: International Conference Centre named after him

Today between 1200 hrs, and 1400 hrs, Ghana's Kofi Annan will be the focus of the whole world as he receives the most prestigious international award - the Nobel Peace Prize. Ghanaians will have the rare opportunity of savouring it with him on television when the ceremonies are telecast live from Oslo, Norway.

The investiture of UN Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan with the Nobel Peace Prize will be by the Nobel Academy, which will present him with a citation and cash prize. Ghana's President, J.A. Kufuor would be at hand to give his compatriot a helping hand at this most ennobling occasion.

The Accra Mail has learnt from highly reliable government sources that cabinet has taken a decision to name a major Ghanaian monument after him. This will be the first such honour by the one-year old government of the NPP, and would probably be the beginning of a major exercise of honouring deserving Ghanaians by naming monuments after them. The monument to be named after Kofi Annan is likely to be the Accra International Conference Centre. According to a source, the President is expected to make the announcement from Oslo today, or when he returns home during the week.

The Kofi Annan Conference Centre would no doubt also have a research library.

The Nobel Academy named The UN and its Secretary General as co-winners of this year's award due to the major role they have played in engendering world peace. The UN celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 1998. This was a period that saw its expansion in membership and the assumption of ever challenging roles in an increasingly complex and fractious world. The UN and its different organs had to take on the responsibility of peacekeeper, humanitarian arbiter, researcher, protector of the human heritage and much, much more. Last week the UN had to broker a major deal between Afghan warlords to select an interim leader and government to run the affairs of the devastated country after the rout of the Talebans. It was a delicate balancing act, which only the UN could have achieved. When the war ends, the UN would be expected to co-ordinate reconstruction efforts, just as it has been co-ordinating relief efforts.

It is conceivable that without the UN, many developing countries like Ghana would have had worse economies than their current precarious HIPC status. Through the auspices of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for example, much assistance has flowed into the world's distressed countries. Others like the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children and Educational Fund (UNICEF) have played far reaching roles in ensuring the survival of humanity, the world over.

Kofi Annan himself stepped in when the UN could not agree on extending the tenure of the former Secretary General, Boutros Boutros Ghali. He had been in the UN system for many years rising to head the organization's peacekeeping operations before being endorsed to take over from Boutros Ghali. When he took over five years ago, he trimmed the organization and gave it a new sense of purpose, which brought it the much-needed confidence it needed to pursue its mandate. He was given an unprecedented endorsement early this year by the world body to lead the organization for another five-year term as Secretary General when his term runs out at the end of this year. Today's ceremony in Oslo will no doubt further enhance the authority of the UN at this time when its interventions are much in demand all over the globe.

The Accra Mail wishes to congratulate Mr. Kofi Annan and the United Nations Organization for their well-deserved award.