President touts Ghana’s economic Success at UN General Assembly

Change has  become an overriding theme in the  language of today’s  social  and political  landscape. We speak  of the  need to change behaviours, attitudes, and laws. We speak  of the  need to  effect  change in the  areas  of human  rights  and social justice, in education and health administration.

We have come to understand the  concept of change as a constant in our lives as human  beings and as citizens of this world. But does change automatically signify progress?

There  is an  old  saying  with which I’m sure  you  are  all familiar. It is, “the  more things  change, the more  they stay the same.”

Recent developments

Sometimes  when   I   find   myself   listening  to   reports  of   the   many   recent developments taking  place  in the  world,  that  saying  comes to  mind,  and  I  am overcome with a strong sense of déjà  vu- as though we have been here  before.

When   I   hear   reports  about  the   taking   of  hostages  and   the   savagery  of beheadings, it is 2004 again  and  week  after  week,  there is news  of the  killing of foreign  hostages in Iraq.

When   I  hear   reports about  Israel  and   Gaza,  it  is  2005  again   and   Israel  has launched Operation Summer Rain, immediately followed  by Operation Autumn Clouds. The  resulting death toll in the  Gaza  Strip is in the  hundreds. Many are children.

Likewise,  reports of  police   brutality  in  the  United  States against an  unarmed black man takes  me back to 1999 when 23-year old Guinean-born Amadou Diallo was shot  19 times  by four New York City police  officers. Or to 1991 when Rodney King  was  brutally  beaten by  five  Los  Angeles  police   officers.  Both  of  those incidents caused a tremendous public outcry, as has this year’s shooting to death of 18-year old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, with the singular  message of “no justice, no peace.” 

Do   such   events  indicate  an   outright  regression?  Does   the   uncomfortable familiarity of some current world events mean that  despite the  changes so many individuals  and  organisations have  worked  to achieve, we have  made little or no progress?

I would like to believe this is not so. I would like to believe these events of recent times  are merely setbacks that  will motivate us to find more  sustainable solutions, slight reversals  on that sinuous  path  toward true progress.

Dag  Hammarskjöld, who served as the  second Secretary-General of the  United Nations from  1953  until  his untimely  death in a plane crash  in 1961  said,  “the pursuit   of  peace and  progress cannot end  in a  few  years  in either   victory  or defeat. The  pursuit   of  peace and   progress, with  its  trials  and   its  errors,   its successes and its setbacks, can never  be relaxed and never  abandoned.”

Ebola outbreak

In the  course of  the  past   several   months, since  the  beginning of  the  Ebola outbreak in West  Africa, I have  been reminded of both the  importance and  the practicality  of those words.  True progress relies on neither victory nor defeat but on persistence, on perseverance.

On   September 15, in  my  capacity   as  the  Chair  of  ECOWAS,  the  Economic Community  of  West   African  States,  I  travelled  to  Liberia,  Sierra  Leone   and Guinea.  They  are  the   three  countries that   have   been most   affected by  the outbreak of Ebola. These  are nations that  were recovering from conflict, civil wars in Liberia  and  Sierra  Leone  that  also  adversely affected  Guinea, which  shares borders with both countries.

These   are  nations that   were  struggling to  rebuild their  social  and  economic infrastructures. Even before the  outbreak of Ebola,  these countries were  already operating  with  limited   resources,  with  an   insufficient   number  of  treatment facilities and a shortage of qualified  medical staff.

So  far,  there have  been 5,843 recorded cases   of  Ebola,   including  2,803 deaths. 

The World Health  Organisation predicts that  if the  disease is not  brought under control, the number of cases  could  easily rise to 20,000 by as early as November.

What  makes  Ebola  so  dangerous is that  the  virus dares us to  compromise the impulses that  exist at the  very core  of our humanity:  our impulse to comfort one another with love; to care for each  other with the healing power  of touch;  and,  to maintain the  dignity  of our  loved  ones  even  in death with a public  funeral  and properly marked grave.

Ebola  is a disease of isolation.  It leaves  family members afraid  to  embrace one another, healthcare workers afraid to attend to patients, and it forces  the living to abandon  the   cultural   rites   of  washing,   embalming  and   burying   their   dead. Instead they  are  zipped into  a  secure  body   bag, carried   on  a  stretcher  by makeshift pallbearers in protective wear, then  tossed into a freshly dug  grave.

Slow response to Ebola

Just   as   individuals   with  Ebola   are   often   shunned  and   ostracised  by  their communities, the  initial slowness of response by the  international community, in many ways, left the affected countries to suffer their fate alone.

In my travels to those three countries, despite my awareness of the suspension of flights by some airlines, I was shocked to find the airports completely vacant.

Ebola  is not  just a Liberian problem, or a Sierra Leonean or Guinean problem. It is not  just a West  African problem. Ebola  is a problem that  belongs to the  world because it is a disease that knows no boundaries.

We cannot afford to let fear keep us away. We cannot afford to let it compromise the  very impulses  that  not  only define  but  retain  our  humanity.  We must  erase the  stigma. To that  end,  Ghana has offered the  use  of its capital  city, Accra, as a base of operations for activities geared towards the containment of the disease.

UN Mission for Ebola

I  would  like to  commend UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon  and  the  Security Council   for  establishing  the   United   Nations  Mission   for  Ebola   Emergency Response (UNMEER).  I would  also like to acknowledge and  commend President Barack  Obama  and   the   people  of  the   United   States  of  America   for  their enormous commitment to the fight against Ebola. 

Health  officials have  announced numerous times  that,  in theory,  it is relatively easy  to stop  the  spread of Ebola  because it is transmitted through contact with bodily  fluids.  It has  been suggested that   through changes in  behaviour and practices, the  public  could  potentially reduce, if not  eliminate, their  exposure to the  virus. Yet, in reality, the  Ebola  virus was able  to spread so quickly throughout the   West   African  sub   region because  of  its  exposure  to  the   fluidity  of  our borders.

The free  movement of people, goods and  services  throughout the  West  African sub  region is something that  ECOWAS has  been promoting for the  last several decades. It allows interaction and  increased trade between our  fifteen  member states. However,  without  the  proper preventive measures in place, such  fluidity can  also  enable the  free  movement of disease, drugs, arms,  human  traffickers and terrorists.

Unfortunately, Africa is especially vulnerable to  terrorism. Because of its sheer size and  vast terrain  it offers  myriad  places for terrorists to hide  and  create safe havens. With over  60 per cent  of Africa’s population under the  age  of thirty-five and  a significant  number living in extreme poverty,  terrorists also have  the  opportunity to  recruit   new  members by  exploiting  the   ignorance and   disillusionment  of young  people who  lack the  skills, education and  opportunities to  find  gainful employment.

The  proliferation of technology has  made even  the  most  remote areas  of the continent accessible with  a  single  phone call  or  keystroke. What  this  does is facilitate  communication within terrorist cells and between terrorist organisations. It would now be  far too  simplistic, not to mention myopic,  for a nation  to believe that   they  are  just  dealing with  any  one   terrorist organisation, such  as  Boko Haram,  Al-Shabaab, Ansar al Dine, Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, the  Taliban,  ISIS or the Khorasan  group.

Because of the  assistance and  cooperation that  exists  between them,  they  have in fact  become several  tentacles of a single  organism. So, too,  must  we  come together as one  cohesive body,  united in our battle to defend our freedoms and values.  We,  too,   must  communicate within  and   between  ourselves; we  must cooperate, lend  assistance and  resources to  fight  and  conquer this  common threat. 

Since  the  start  of the  global  recession, economic growth  rates  have  generally declined and  people have,  by and  large,  become pessimistic about their  future. This  month, the   Pew  Research Center  published  the   results   of  a  44-country survey  conducted in  Spring   2014  to  assess public   views  of  major  economic changes in the world. According to these results,  a global  median of 69 per cent  are not pleased with the  way things  are going in their countries. This includes advanced, as  well as  developing economies. The  concerns expressed cut  across  a  wide spectrum of  issues,   such  as  inflation,  unemployment,  income  inequality and public debt.

My country,  Ghana is no  exception. Over  the  last  year,  the  public  has  seen an increase in the  cost of living. Falling commodity prices  led not only to a fall in tax revenue from companies that  operate in Ghana, but  they  also  led  to  a massive decline  in  export  earnings.  This  contributed  to   a  general sense  of  macro- economic instability  and  placed a  great deal  of pressure on  our  currency,  the cedi.

For the  past  22 years,  Ghanaians have  witnessed a steady improvement in the circumstances of our nation. With a return  to democracy and  the  rule of law, six successful  elections  and   peaceful  transitions  of  power,  Ghana  became  an example for other African nations turning  toward democracy and  constitutional rule.  The  stability   inspired  investor   confidence  and   increased  growth.  Soon Ghana was deemed one  of the fastest growing  economies in the world.

This did not make  us immune to the  economic challenges that  were facing many nations across  the  globe. Quite  the  opposite. Instability in the  global  commodity markets have  a direct  bearing on our budgets and,  hence, our ability to finance our development.

The global  downturn exposed the  weaknesses in our foundation. It alerted us to the  need for change, the  need to  establish the  proper institutions for effective economic management,  institutions that  will foster  resilience and  an  ability  to better absorb the blows of unexpected occurrences or outcomes.

The anxieties and concerns of the Ghanaian public are understandable. 

Like so  many  African countries, Ghana has  been through dark  economic times, and  our seemingly changing fortunes, with its uncomfortable familiarity, brought on a fear of regression. But this was merely a setback, a slight reversal.

Already,  the  home grown  measures of fiscal stabilisation that  we have  taken  are yielding  results.  Only  this  month, Ghana surprised even  its most  ardent  critics when  it launched its third Eurobond for an amount of one   billion dollars.  This successful floatation represents a return  of investor  confidence in the  prospects of the  Ghanaian economy. This confidence is apparent in the  recent rebound of the  Cedi.  Over the  last two weeks,  the  Cedi  has appreciated significantly against its major trading currencies.

Partnership not sympathy

Last  year  when  I  addressed this  august Assembly,   I  explained that   it  is  not sympathy we want;  it is partnership, the  ability to  stand on  our  own  feet.  In an attempt to  establish such  a partnership, we have  entered into  discussions  with the IMF, an organization that  is no stranger to the process of self-assessment and the implementation of change in the pursuit  of true progress.

Indeed, both Ghana and  the  IMF have  evolved, and  this  partnership has  the potential to bring  about the sort of transformation that  will move  Ghana from the ranks of low middle-income into a full-fledged middle-income status.

The  coming year  will mark  the  20th  anniversary   of  the  World  Conference on Women that  was held  in Beijing in 1995. I would  like to  note, with great pride, that  it will also mark the 40th  anniversary  of Ghana’s  establishment of the National Council   on  Women  and   Development,  which  has   since   been  renamed the Department of Gender.

Ghana has a long-held commitment to the  betterment of women’s  lives, and  my administration has made it a priority to carry on this tradition. In fact, much,  if not all,  of  what   we  are   doing  falls  directly   in  line  with  the   areas   of  concern enumerated in the Beijing Platform  for Action.

Women in Public Office

This administration boasts the  highest number of women  appointed to  public office in the  history of Ghana. Seven  of our Cabinet Ministers  are women, as are the  holders of several  senior  public  service  posts- and  I hope the  fact that  they are too  numerous to list is an indication that we are reaching toward the ideal. 

We have submitted to Parliament an Intestate Succession Bill, which ensures that if a spouse dies  without  having  written  a will, the  surviving spouse will not  be dispossessed of their  marital  assets. Also submitted to  Parliament is a Property Rights of Spouses Bill, which ensures that  spouses are entitled to fair portions of property acquired during  the union.

Also  in  existence  are   several   other  pieces  of  legislation designed  to   offer protection and  empowerment of women  such as the  Domestic Violence Act, the Human Trafficking Act, an Affirmative Action Bill, and a Gender Policy.

I   spoke  earlier   of  isolation.   Very  few  nations  have   experienced  the   sort   of exclusion  that  Cuba  has  for the  last  several  decades suffered as a result  of the U.S.  embargo  on  that   country.   Ghana  stands  firm  on  its  position  that   the embargo should  be lifted.

Also,  Ghana calls  for a  halt  to  the  establishment of  settlements in Palestinian territories. We have consistently expressed our support of a two-state solution  for the Israeli-Palestinian struggle, with the nations co-existing peacefully.

Problem of inequality

This year, the  world’s attention has been drawn  to the  urgency of addressing the growing  problem of inequality and  the  threats that  it poses to  our  unrelenting pursuit  of peace. I would like to also draw attention to the  pervasive presence of religious  intolerance.

At the  root  of all of the  world’s  major  religions  exists  the  call for compassion, forgiveness, tolerance,  peace,  and   love.   Nevertheless,  the   use   of  religious dogma and extremism as a weapon of violence  persists.

In  this  age   of  terrorism  and   political   turmoil;   national,  regional  and   ethnic conflict, it may be tempting to use the actions of a few to justify prejudice toward many. It may be tempting to combine the faithful with the fanatical.

But those of us who  envision  a just and  peaceful world  cannot and  should  not yield to  those temptations. Time and  time  again,  history  has  shown  us that  the 

changing of a world  begins with the  power  that  rests  in the  hands of people, ordinary individuals.

Or,  in the  words  of  one  of  the  greatest teachers and  leaders of  nonviolence, Mahatma Gandhi, “You must be the change you wish to see  in the world.”

Today  our Jewish  brothers and  sisters  are celebrating Rosh Hashanah, their New

Year. To them,  I say, “L’Ashana Tova.”

Next  week,  our  Muslim  brothers and   sisters   will be   celebrating Eid-al-Adha, Festival of the Sacrifice. To them,  I say, “Eid Mubarrak.”

And, to you, Mr. President, I say, “Many thanks  for the  opportunity, and  for your kind attention.”