It's historic

Page 40: Daily Graphic, July 9, 2009.
Compiled By: Albert K. Salia
POLITICAL relations between Ghana and the United States of America (USA) has been quite friendly since independence except on a few occasions where the relations were strained. However, in the last two decades, the relations have been excellent which have resulted in the visit of two sitting US Presidents, President Bill Clinton in 1998 and President George Bush in 2008.
President Barack Obama’s July 10-11, visit to Ghana has been hailed in many circles with Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Johnnie Carson describing it as a “historic occasion” .
The visit is ostensibly to recognise the progress Ghana has made — particularly in the area of democratisation — which serves as an example to the rest of Africa.
Ghana is a country that has achieved a great deal and is setting up a path of progress both on the economic and the political side which Carson said President Obama’s visit was in part to acknowledge Ghana’s success and progress.
In a June 17 interview with America.gov, Carson commended Ghana for holding “a very successful presidential and parliamentary election in December 2008 and January of this year, which resulted in President John Atta Mills coming to power.
Carson said the change in power was the fifth successful democratic transition of power since the end of military rule in Ghana in 1992, but, more importantly, for all of Africa, it served as an example of the power of democracy.
Carson said: “Ghana was also the first state in sub-Saharan Africa to gain its independence and … today is one of the most vibrant economic and politically important countries in West Africa. Ghana has been a strong contributor to regional stability to African peacekeeping missions in West Africa as well as around the world, and it shortly will become a major producer of petroleum”.
Carson said that “in recognition of Ghana’s success, both in the management of its democracy in country and the management of its economy, it has been recipient of one of the largest Millennium Challenge Account grants given by the United States — an amount in excess of $500 million, which will help to serve as a further catalyst to the development of one of Africa’s most important countries.”
The President and Mrs Obama look forward to strengthening the U.S. relationship with one of her most trusted partners in sub-Saharan Africa, and to highlighting the critical role that sound governance and civil society play in promoting lasting development.
But it is important to note that the relations between Ghana-United States have generally been friendly since Ghana's independence, except for a period of strained relations during the later years of the Nkrumah regime. Ghana was the first country which had United States Peace Corps volunteers sent to in 1961.
Ghana and the United States are signatories to twenty agreements and treaties covering such matters as agricultural commodities, aviation, defense, economic and technical cooperation, education, extradition, postal matters, telecommunications, and treaty obligations. The refusal of the United States to join the International Cocoa Agreement, given Ghana's heavy dependence on cocoa exports to earn hard currency, is the most serious bilateral issue between the two countries.
Relations between the United States and Ghana were particularly rocky in the early 1980s, apparently because of Ghana's relations with Libya. The PNDC government restored diplomatic relations with Libya shortly after coming to power. Libya came to the aid of Ghana soon afterward by providing a much-needed economic assistance. Libya also has extensive financial holdings in Ghana. Rawlings has supported Libya's position that two Libyans accused of bombing a Pan American Airlines flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 should be tried in a neutral country rather than in Britain or the United States.
Relations between the United States and Ghana were further strained by a series of diplomatic incidents in the mid-1980s. In July 1985, a distant relative of Rawlings, Michael Soussoudis, was arrested in the United States and charged with espionage. Despite Soussoudis's conviction, he was exchanged the following December for several known United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agents in Accra, but not before diplomats had been expelled in both Accra and Washington. In March 1986, a Panamanian-registered ship carrying arms and a number of mercenaries and United States veterans of the Vietnam War was seized off the coast of Brazil. The PNDC charged that the arms and soldiers were destined for Ghana and that they had been financed by a Ghanaian dissident with links to the CIA. During their trial, several crew members admitted that the charges were substantially true. Although they were convicted and imprisoned, three subsequently escaped with what the PNDC alleged was with CIA assistance.
In spite of these incidents, relations between the United States and Ghana improved markedly in
the late 1980s. Former United States president Jimmy Carter visited Ghana in 1986 and again in 1988 and was warmly received by the PNDC. Carter’s Global 2000 agricultural program, which is quite popular with Ghanaian farmers, is helping promote good relations with the United States. In 1989 the United States forgave US$114 million of Ghana's foreign debt, part of a larger debt relief effort by Western nations.
The United States has strongly favoured Ghana's economic and political reform policies, and since the birth of the Fourth Republic and Ghana's return to constitutional rule, has offered assistance to help Ghana institutionalise and consolidate its steps toward democratic governance. In the 1994 financial year, United States development aid totaled about $38 million; in addition, the United States supplied more than $16 million in food aid.
Thousands of Ghanaians have been educated in the United States. Close relations are maintained between educational and scientific institutions, and cultural links, particularly between Ghanaians and African-Americans, are strong.
Through the U.S. International Visitor Programme, Ghanaian parliamentarians and other government officials have become acquainted with U.S. congressional and state legislative practices and have participated in programmes designed to address other issues of interest.
The U.S. and Ghanaian militaries have cooperated in numerous joint training exercises, culminating in Ghanaian participation in the African Crisis Response Initiative, an international activity in which the U.S. facilitates the development of an interoperable peacekeeping capacity among African nations. U.S.-Ghanaian military cooperation continues under the new African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance programme; Ghana’s military was one of the first militaries to receive ACOTA training in early 2003. In addition, there is an active bilateral International Military Education and Training programme. Additionally, Ghana is the site of a U.S.-European Command-funded Exercise Reception Facility that was established to facilitate troop deployments for exercises or crisis response within the region. The facility is a direct result of Ghana's partnership with the United States on a Fuel Hub Initiative. Ghana is one of few African nations selected for the State Partnership Programme, which will promote greater economic ties with U.S. institutions, including the National Guard.
The United States is among Ghana's principal trading partners. The Office of the President of Ghana worked closely with the U.S. Embassy in Accra to establish an American Chamber of Commerce to continue to develop closer economic ties in the private sector. Major U.S. companies operating in the country include Newmont, ADM, Kosmos Energy, Anadarko, DHL, FedEx, UPS, KPMG, ACS, CMS Energy, Coca Cola, S.C. Johnson, Ralston Purina, Star-Kist, A.H. Robins, Sterling, Pfizer, IBM, 3M, Motorola, Stewart & Stevenson, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and National Cash Register (NCR).
The discovery of major oil reserves in deep water in the Gulf of Guinea has led numerous American petroleum exploration firms to enter the Ghanaian market, and many other firms involved in oil and gas auxiliary services express an interest in starting operations in the country. Mining companies and agri-businesses from the U.S. increased their investments in Ghana recently. Political stability, overall sound economic management, a low crime rate, competitive wages, and an educated, English-speaking workforce have increased Ghana's potential to serve as a West African hub for American businesses.
U.S. development assistance to Ghana in fiscal year 2007 was implemented by USAID, the African Development Foundation, Millennium Challenge Corporation, and others. U.S. development assistance to Ghana in fiscal year 2007 totaled more than $55.1 million, with programmes in small farmer competitiveness, health, including HIV/AIDS and maternal child health, education, and democracy/governance. Ghana was the first country in the world to accept Peace Corps volunteers, and the programme remains one of the largest. Currently, there are more than 150 volunteers in Ghana. Almost half are in the education sector and the others in agro-forestry, small business development, health education, water sanitation, and youth development. Ghana's $547 million compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation is the most recent achievement in the U.S.-Ghanaian development partnership.