Africa’s quest for democracy and economic management – ALL EYES ON GHANA: US Deputy Secretary of State

Front Page: January 27, 2012 Story: Albert K. Salia THE United States Deputy Secretary of State, Mr Williams J. Burns, says Ghana is the standard bearer in Africa in the areas of democracy and economic management. Therefore, he said, Ghanaians and the rest of the world looked forward to enjoying peaceful and transparent elections in the country in December 2012. Giving Ghana the thumps-up when he paid a courtesy call on President J. E. A. Mills at the Castle, Osu, yesterday, Mr Burns said President Obama’s visit to Ghana in July 2009 bore testimony to Ghana’s democratic credentials. He was accompanied to the Castle by the US Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Donald Teitelbaum. Mr Burns, who is on his way to the 18th African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, scheduled for January 29 and 30, 2012, is also expected to visit Uganda and South Sudan. The meeting between the US Deputy Secretary of State and President Mills was to reinforce the commitment of the US to build strong ties with Ghana and also highlight that country’s continued support for presidential initiatives such as the Partnership for Growth and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). Mr Burns said Ghana was also a standard bearer in peacekeeping across the world and indicated that the US government looked forward to strengthening the relationships and co-operation in all sectors, especially the MCC, food security and other areas. Responding, President Mills gave an assurance that the government would work hard to maintain, if not to surpass, Ghana’s successes in constitutional democracy and economic management for which Ghana now occupied a top place in Africa. He acknowledged that the choice of Ghana for a visit by President Obama in July 2009 was based on the democratic credentials of the country and pledged to work hard to maintain the standards, if not surpass them. President Mills noted that the partnership between Ghana and the US hinged on the true values of democracy, good governance, respect for human rights and the rule of law, saying that President Obama’s visit to Ghana lifted the relations to a higher level which the government would seek to maintain. He pledged to strengthen Ghana’s partnership with the US for the benefit of the two countries. He described the US as one of Ghana’s greatest benefactors in national life if one considered the various forms of support that country had given Ghanaians, the recent one being the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) for which Ghana had been shortlisted for a second compact. President Mills said the duty of the government was to create an enabling investment climate to make it more active and conducive for investors. “We will co-operate and work together to see how we can move our countries forward,” he pledged.