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African Leaders give Ghana Jubilee
Present
A GNA News Feature by Boakye-Dankwa Boadi
Accra, Jan. 29, GNA – As the Ghana News Agency was doing its
normal duty of news coverage, word came in that President
John Agyekum Kufuor was on Monday unanimously elected
Chairman of the African Union (AU) at its Eighth Ordinary
Session, which opened at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Monday.
He takes over from Congolese President Sassou Nguesso.
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Regional Integration and NEPAD, told GNA in a telephone
interview from Addis Ababa.
Alpha Oumar Konare, AU's Chief Executive, had told reporters
in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa: "By consensus vote
President (John) Kufuor of Ghana has been elected to the
presidency of the African Union."
Was it William Shakespeare, who
said great events cast their shadow before they happen?
Well, as the lobbying for the position proceeded a number of
countries were knocked out for one reason all the other.
Sudan had pushed to obtain the chairmanship during last
year's Summit, which it hosted, but African Leaders selected
Republic of Congo's President Nguesso in a compromise deal
for him to chair for one year and then hand over to Sudanese
President Omar al-Bashir.
But the deal hinged on Sudan demonstrating progress in
bringing peace to Darfur, a violence-wracked western Sudan
Region. Instead of calming, Darfur's violence in recent
months has spilled into neighbouring Chad and Central
African Republic.
It became clear that Kenya was out the race for the
chairmanship of the African Union. "We are out of the race,"
Kenyan representative to the AU, Mr Franklin Esipila said.
Sources said the impending General Election in that country
was the basis on which Kenya was locked out of contention as
there could be a change of guard.
The AU requires that the one-year chairmanship goes to a
President whose term should be uninterrupted during that
period.
Other contenders at the beginning of the Summit were
Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia.
Sources said Ethiopia was thrown out of the race because it
recently invaded Somalia.
For a State to get the chairmanship, it must be supported by
at least two-thirds of the 53 members or by consensus. Ghana
won because both Rwanda and Tanzania did not have an
impressive peacekeeping record.
Back to Shakespeare; prior to the election Ghana's
Implementation Report on the recommendations of the African
Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) had received overwhelming
commendation.
The 25 States that have signed up to be peer reviewed were
unanimous in their assessment that it was a reflection of
the success story of Africa.
The Report captured the progress Ghana was making in the
four thematic areas of Democracy and Political Governance;
Economic Governance and Management; Corporate Governance and
Socio-Economic Development.
Presenting Report at the Sixth Summit of the APRM Heads of
State and Government Forum held on the margins of the Africa
Union's ordinary session in the Ethiopian Capital, Addis
Ababa on Sunday, President Kufuor gave a detail account of
policy interventions and initiatives taken by the Government
in response to the recommendations made by the African Peer
Review (APR) Panel of eminent persons.
These included a 50 million-dollar Land Administration
Project to rationalise land administration and management;
the setting up of a Ministry of Chieftaincy Affairs to help
to reduce the incidence of conflicts through chieftaincy
succession and land disputes and a Public Sector Reform
Ministry to enhance the delivery of efficient Government
services.
In addition, he said, issues of fair wages and pensions were
being seriously tackled, while the country's debt stock had
been reduced by as much as 43 per cent through debt
cancellation and the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)
Initiative.
To help to promote good economic governance and management,
President Kufuor informed the Forum that there was now a
tracking system in the country's financial administration
through the holding of joint weekly meetings by the Finance
Ministry, the Bank of Ghana and the Controller and
Accountant General's Department.
Besides, the Public Account and Finance Committee of
Parliament was also being strengthened through capacity
building workshops and seminars to enable it to carry out
its oversight role in financial matters.
President Kufuor further spoke about the Government's
efforts at decentralising the Registrar General's
Department, the introduction of credit schemes like the
Venture Capital and loans to micro and small scale
businesses; bringing down of corporate tax and the policy
that a manufacturer should no longer pay Value Added Tax
(VAT) upfront.
He also touched on the introduction of a legislation to
enforce compliance with environmental regulations; the
revamping of the educational system; the capitation grant;
which has increased primary schools enrolment by about 16
per cent; the school feeding programme; free bus ride for
pupils; training of teachers and provision of classrooms and
equipment.
He said there were, however, some challenges to the
country's implementation of its programme of action,
pointing out that, the quest to achieve single digit
inflation had not been achieved largely due to the high
petroleum prices.
“Ghana, in addition, continues to face capacity and skills
shortages in a number of endeavours to meet the national
development effort while the public sector was yet to wholly
orient itself to private sector growth.”
President Olusegun Obasanjo, Chairman of the Forum said
Ghana had by its pacesetter role demonstrated that the APRM
could spur Africa's progress.
"The measures taken are concrete and development-oriented",
he stated, and suggested that it should be published so that
the world would come to know that the APRM was chalking
success.
South African President Thabo Mbeki described the
implementation report as not only focussed and straight
forward but that it also tackled in a verifiable manner, how
the programme of action was being implemented.
He recommended that it should be made the standard for all
African countries.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said Ghana's Report has
brought out a number of best practices, which the other
countries would have to copy.
Another fact that might have influenced the African Leaders
in their choice, which one must emphasise its unanimity, was
the fact that President Kufuor has been seen a model for his
generation just as Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah was among his
peers during the struggle for Africa’s emancipation from
colonial rule.
What a befitting present for Ghana@50. One would like to
invite all to savour this birthday wine presented by African
Leaders to Ghana and how refreshing with Professor John
Evans Atta Mills, National Democratic Congress’ presidential
candidate for Election 2008, filing the first congratulatory
message to President Kufuor.
Indeed in the words of Busumuru Kofi Atta Annan,
Immediate-Past Secretary General of the United Nations,
these are exciting moments to be African and of course a
Ghanaian.
GNA
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