Ghana, model of democracy and stability - High Commissioner

Tamale, Aug. 27, GNA- Mr. Gordon Wetherell, out-going British High Commissioner to Ghana has described the country as "a model of democracy and stability" in the midst of conflicts in other parts of the African continent.

He attributed the peace and stability in the country to the unity, tolerance and accommodating nature of Ghanaians. Mr. Wetherell made the commendation when he paid a courtesy call on the Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris in Tamale on Monday.

The High Commissioner who has been on duty tour of Ghana for the past three and a half years, praised the level of cooperation between Britain and Ghana and said this had engendered a significant British assistance to Ghana in the areas of education, health and road infrastructure.

He said the British Government had also assisted Ghana in matters of security through the provision of logistics and training, adding: "More recently, Britain is assisting in combating the trade in narcotics". Mr. Wetherell noted the disparity in the level of development between the south and the northern parts of the country and hinted that Britain, in consultation with other development partners, was taking measures to address the issue.

The High Commissioner said there was a growing population of British with Ghanaian parentage who were occupying important and sensitive positions in Britain and expressed optimism that this would further strengthen the bonds of relations between the two countries. He said these British-Ghanaians were also in a position to assist Ghana economically and put their technical expertise at the disposal of the country in its development efforts. Alhaji Idris commended the High Commissioner for further strengthening the relationship between the two countries noting that Britain had provided logistics and capacity training to enhance health care delivery in Ghana.

He said for the past year, Dagbon had been stable and assured the Commissioner that the Regional Security Council in collaboration with the parties involved in the chieftaincy crisis was doing every thing possible to resolve the issue once and for all. The Regional Minister appealed to the British Government to assist the region in the area of security by providing vehicles to enable the security personnel to respond rapidly to conflict. He asked the High Commissioner to continue acting as an advocate for Ghana wherever he would find himself.