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President John Dramani Mahama speaking at the 71st United Nations General Assembly
President John Dramani Mahama speaking at the 71st United Nations General Assembly

Mahama touts Ghana’s successes at UN General Assembly

President John Dramani Mahama took to the world stage – the 71st United Nations General Assembly – to tout Ghana’s democratic and economic strides and told his peers: “I am proud of my country.”

“I am proud of my country. We are variously called the ‘model of democracy’ in Africa or the ‘beacon of democracy’,” he told his colleague Heads of State who gathered for the second day of the general debate of the UN General Assembly in New York yesterday.

“We have not looked back since the adoption of our 1992 Constitution. Successive elections, with power occasionally swinging between opposing political forces, have established Ghana’s democratic credentials in the world,” he said.

The theme for the general debate is: “The Sustainable Development Goals: A universal push to transform our world”.

On the economic strides the country had made, he said “bold measures in effecting structural reforms have yielded a more stable and resilient economy with a deficit to GDP target of 4.9 per cent this year, among other favourable targets”.

“With a stable currency, business confidence is rising and foreign direct investment remains strong. Ghana has been chugging along at a respectable average of about six per cent GDP growth over the last decade,” he added.

President Mahama also stated that over the last decade the country had invested heavily in expanding socio-economic infrastructure, while investment in health care, education, power and other related areas had been impressive.

“With the modest progress we are making, we are able to recapture the vision of the Founder of our nation,” he stressed.

While hailing Ghana’s democracy, he assured the world that the country would pass the test in this year’s elections to maintain its image.

Africa democracy 

President Mahama said democracy “is not a one-size-fits-all system. Different countries are at different stages of the democratic journey. Democracy evolves and cannot be forced. A properly functioning peer system can avoid some of the meltdowns we are experiencing in some African countries due to the desire to remain in office interminably”.

He said it was wrong for Africa to be seen as a homogenous unit, instead of taking cognisance that “we are a whole continent with different aspirations, cultures, democracies and economic development”.

He stressed the need for Africans to be given the space to learn from their mistakes.

Opportunities 

President Mahama underscored the need for African countries to evolve strategies from within to create opportunities at home for their teeming youth. 

He said although Africa could achieve a lot with the collaboration of the rest of the world, a lot also rested “within our capacity to achieve as Africans”. 

He referred to a recent decision he took to allow citizens of other African countries travelling to Ghana to obtain visas on arrival.

 “This will stimulate trade and investment if it is replicated across the whole continent,” he said.

He said structural and governance reforms were critical in advancing the continent’s growth. 

Although he spoke well about democratic governance in Africa, he nonetheless stated that there was a lot more that could be done to allow Africans the space to express themselves.

Stating that Africa needed strengthened institutions, the President said, “We are working to build them.”

Africa needs no sympathy 

 President Mahama said Africa did not need sympathy or overseas development assistance from the wealthy nations but “a fair chance to trade with the rest of the world and among ourselves”. 

It was in that context that he welcomed the progress made towards the creation of a continental free trade area and asked for the process to be fast-tracked. 

He called for the reordering of economic relations between Africa and the wealthy nations to create opportunities for the continent’s young people at home.

“With a significant share of the world’s arable lands, a youthful labour force and a significant share of the world’s natural resources, a reordering of economic relations could create boundless opportunities that will keep young Africans at home,” he told the general assembly.

Calling for the removal of subsidies to farmers of the advanced world, he explained that the situation would create an even playing field for African farmers to compete.

“Removing revenue and non-revenue barriers to African produce will give African agriculture a fighting chance,” he added.

He indicated that some of Africa’s young people who undertook the dangerous journey to Europe through the Mediterranean Sea from Ghana were young poultry farmers or other entrepreneurs.

“They sell their shops to undertake the journey because they can no longer compete with the tonnes of frozen chicken dumped on the African market annually or the adverse business environment they have to face,” the President stated.

New walls 

Describing the migration of young Africans to Europe through the dangerous Sahara Desert and the high seas in search of better lives, the President said the menace needed to be checked at all cost.

In Europe they turned out to be refugees, something he said was one of the “new walls coming up” all over the world.

“All over the world, there are new walls coming up,” President Mahama said, adding that the walls were creating unfavourable conditions for many young people, especially in Africa, to develop their potential, “and yet we have the resources  in this world to guarantee each person a decent life”.

Touching on the implementation of the MDGs, he said despite the minimal resources that were injected by the wealthy nations, “we managed by prioritising our spending to put more children in school than ever before in our history”.

President Mahama took a look at the complicated nature of the world today and questioned what had happened to the ideals that created the UN.

Security

He touched on terrorism which was threatening the very foundations of the world and said no one could downplay the threat.

In parts of Africa, he said, Boko Haram was unleashing terror on innocent citizens.

“Ghana stands in solidarity with all countries that have experienced terrorism recently. We must not give in to them. The terrorists must not win and they will not win,” he said.

 

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