Fellow Ghanaians, I have come into
your homes this evening to talk about a matter that has generated a lot of heat
in our country these past days.
Last week, at the height of the
furore triggered by the US-Ghana Military Co-operation Agreement, a good friend
of mine came to caution me on what he called the “hazards of this democracy
thing”. He told me, just in case I needed reminding that my predecessor as
President,who had also been democratically elected, had chosen to avoid any
possible controversy by signing and keeping secret some agreements. So, why did
I not follow this precedent, instead of exposing the nation to all the hazards
of the past few days?
My friend, no doubt, had a point.
Indeed, I acknowledge that there are many very well-meaning citizens who would
have preferred the peaceful process of agreements reached behind closed doors,
to the furore of the past few days. Yet, far from being daunted, I take what
has happened not to be symptomatic of the hazards of democracy, but a show of
the strength of democracy in action. We are seeing being displayed before our
very eyes, not the triumph of disorder, but the value of openness in
governance, and of the need, the crucial need, for the people to be fully and
accurately informed.
You cannot claim to believe in
democracy unless you have faith in the people, faith in their inherent
goodness, faith in their capacity to make the right decisions, given the right
information. It is this faith in the people that has shaped my entire political
career, and it is this faith that propels me to lead an open and transparent
government.
I was fully aware of how such
agreements had been handled in earlier administrations, but I decided that,
under my watch, any such agreements should be subject to the appropriate
scrutiny of the people’s representatives in Parliament, in consonance with the requirements
of accountable governance and the teachings of the Constitution. After all,
you, the Ghanaian people, had voted massively for change;therefore,there was simply
no way my government would ever keep hidden from you, the people, agreements of
such a nature.I believe that the fall-out from this decision only shows the
growing maturation of our democracy.
But for this decision to be open
about this agreement, how else would we, the people of Ghana, have ever known
that,for several decades,Ghana has had defence and security co-operation collaborationswith
the United States of America? How else would we have known that,in some instances,
we have provided them with facilities for the movement of personnel and
equipment to help some of our neighbours who were facing security and health
challenges?
And how else would we have exposed
the unspeakable hypocrisy of the fraternity of some frontline politicians, who
make a habit of running with the hares and hunting with the hounds, who secretly
wallow in the largesse of the United States of America, whilst, at the same
time, promote anti-American sentiments to a populist constituency? Submitting
this Agreement to open scrutiny now allows us to clear the unhealthy fog that
has clouded our relations with the United States of America.
The conduct of Ghana’s foreign policy
and its relations with the nations of the world has, happily, been,
traditionally, above the passions of partisan politics. Allowing for the normal
differences of approach, which will sometimes occur, our foreign policy has
been consistently bi-partisan, and no successor government has found the need
to tamper with any Agreement of a non-commercial nature, entered into by its
predecessor. We respect the age-old norms of international diplomacy that, when
a country has accorded concessions and privileges to another, these are not
removed or altered by a successor government, unless, firstly,the conditions
under which they were granted have been reversed; or, secondly, there is proven
evidence of abuse.
My Government came to know that Ghana
had entered into a Co-operation Agreement with the United States of America, in
1998, 2000, and under the government of my predecessor in 2015.We were
satisfied that the conditions which necessitated the Agreement, namely the
creeping threat to the peace of the region, had not disappeared. If anything,
the threat had increased and, therefore, the need had arisen for continuing
with our co-operation.
No suggestion had ever been made that
the United States of America had abused any of the privileges or concessions
granted under any of theseagreements, andit would, thus, have been deemed an
unfriendly act to attempt to deny them any concession granted them under those
agreements.
Fellow Ghanaians, above everything
else, the crux of the matter is this. Ghana has built a formidable reputation
for its contribution to peace-keeping around the world. Although these
peace-keeping operations have always been under the aegis of the United
Nations, no one doubts the fact that they have been made possible by the
contributions largely of the United States of America. The Co-operation
Agreement, which has subsisted, which we have approved, can only enhance the
global effort to preserve the peace in our region.
It is important also to state that
the conditions of the Agreement mirror closely the conditions under which Ghana
participates in peace-keeping operations under the United Nations. When our
troops go on most peacekeeping duties, they do not carry their national
passports, they carry their military identity.
Quite apart from how this Agreement
involves the military as an institution, it is worth pointing out that,virtually
since independence, Ghana has had very fruitful relations with a range of foreign
embassies and major international institutions. These include the United
Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the African
Development Bank, the International Finance Corporation, amongst others. All
these agencies enjoy similar conditions as those which the Co-operation
Agreement offers to the US military here.
No one has dared suggest that
granting these foreign embassies and international institutions these
concessions constitute an attack on the sovereignty of Ghana. Nor has anyone
also felt that the concessions have in any way worked against the interests of
Ghana. Indeed, I have no doubt that it would be the general consensus of all well-informed
Ghanaians that this nation has benefitted significantly from the presence and
activities of these institutions over the past decades.
It is clear to me that,if the people
of Ghana knew the conditions under which foreign embassies and our friendly international
institutions operate in Ghana, nobody would have been surprised that a Defence
Cooperation Agreement would make such provisions.Such knowledge would have
spared many citizens the genuine anxiety and concern they have felt about the
Agreement. It is my firm belief that the case for openness and transparency in
our governance has been clearly demonstrated, and the argument conclusively
settled by these events.
But we have to take issue with the
front-line politicians who have sought to mislead the people in this blatant
manner, and those who, for mischievous purposes, leaked the document destined
for the scrutiny of Parliament prematurely to a section of the media, who then went
on to describe it as a “secret document”. How could a document intended for the
consideration of Parliament be described as a “secret document”?How could anyone
who has been in government and run the administration of this nation feign
ignorance of the conditions under which Ghanaian troops undertake peace-keeping
operations, or the conditions under which our country has collaborated with
major international institutions? It is difficult to understand that such
people, knowing what they do know, would set about so blatantly to confuse
people, and go as far as calling for the overthrow of our democracy?A democracy
that has become the beacon of good governance in Africa?A democracy that has
survived for a quarter of a century and encompassed even the most irresponsible
episodes of ill governance,in a state of unity and stability?A democracy that
has provided the framework for systematic developments in our social and economic
welfare, and assured us of the longest, uninterrupted period of stable
constitutional governance in our history?
Surely, this is the kind of cynical
manipulation by reckless self-seekers, which, in the fullness of time, the
people of Ghana will acknowledge and condemn. And I am sure that as the facts become
clear and widely available, and as the people come to terms with the evidence,
they will reject the falsehood and deliberate attempts to destabilize our
peaceful country. Truth is sacrosanct.
So let me statewith the clearest
affirmation that Ghana has not offered a military base, and will not offer a
military base to the United States of America. Indeed, the United States of
America has not made any request for such consideration and, consistent with
our established foreign policy, we will not consider any such request. However,
in consideration of the realities of our circumstances and the challenges to
peace in our region in our time, we have deemed it prudent to continue the Co-operation
Agreement with the United States of America. It is our firm belief that the
Agreement will help enhance our defence capability, and offer an important
layer of support in our common effort to protect the peace in our region.
Fellow
Ghanaians, let me conclude by saying how outraged I am by the defamatory comments
from my political opponents, some of whose patriotism can be so easily
questioned, that the sovereignty of this country has been sold by my government
and myself. I will never be the President that will compromise or sell the
sovereignty of our country. I respect deeply the memory
of the great patriots whose sacrifice and toil brought about our independence
and freedom. I have stood with you, the Ghanaian people, all my adult life,
fighting for our individual and collective rights.Everything I have done, since
assuming the great honour and privilege of serving you as President of the
Republic, demonstrates that I remain focused on building a self-reliant, free,
prosperous Ghana, which will be able to make her own unique contribution to the
growth and development of Africa and the world.
Let
us concentrate and spend our energies on working together to achieve that goal
of a happy and prosperous Ghana, and reject the hypocrisy of the naysayers who
led our country into bankruptcy and the worse economic record of modern
Ghanaian history. Let us rise above them, and build the Ghana of our destiny,
the land of freedom, justice, progress and prosperity.
May
God bless us all, and our homeland Ghana, and make her great and strong. I
thank you for your attention. Good night.
0 Comments