President Mahama holds out hope for Africa

President John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday held out hope for Africa saying the visibility and the viability of significant developments on the continent show “there is something spectacular happening in Africa”.

Addressing the 67th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York, he noted that Africa boasted some of the fastest growing economies in the world, with Ghana being one of them.

The number of countries engaged in conflict was steadily decreasing year after year, President Mahama said.

“And as that happens, we are also witnessing a steady increase in the number of countries that are governed along democratic lines.  As is true of all new democracies, these systems are not without their flaws.  And while they may not be perfect, they are promising.”

“You see, today, right now, there is something spectacular happening in Africa,” President Mahama noted.

“Growth is taking the place of stagnation; tranquility is taking the place of turmoil; democratic governance, founded on the rule of law, is taking the place of dictatorship.”

President Mahama said there was no denying the visibility and the viability of these significant developments.

“At the very least, they require an examination of long-held views and misconceptions about the African continent. These developments must also find expression in the manner in which developed nations relate to Africa.”

President Mahama said there was still much room for improvement, but he was “inspired by what I see, which are limitless possibilities for Africa and its engagement with the rest of the world”.

He quoted the United Nations Human Development Index which states that Ghana has made tremendous strides in a number of areas with the aim of improving the living conditions of the people.

President Mahama said Ghana was on track to achieve the targets set under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), pointing out that significant progress has been made in reducing extreme poverty, gender parity in school enrolment, universal primary education, provision of safe drinking water and the fight against HIV/AIDS.

He noted that unemployment was a challenge that existed on a global scale, saying nearly all nations, be they developed or developing, were grappling with finding ways to tackle this potential threat to their economic stability.

President Mahama said Ghana was attempting to deal with this problem as aggressively and as effectively as possible by finding solutions that were long-term and sustainable.

This, he said, included a programme that would be launched to encourage young people become entrepreneurs and through that become employers rather than employees.

Referring to the importance of the youth in Africa, President Mahama noted that nearly 65 per cent of the continent’s entire population was below the age of 35.

“Our youth are not only our future; they are also our present,” he said, adding that Ghana, was working assiduously to empower and support our youth to ensure that they would not be left behind in the fast-changing global economic, educational and social priorities.

The President said the government was implementing several social protection programmes across various sectors to cushion the poor and vulnerable and to ensure that the fruits of our economic growth are distributed equitably.

“Under these programmes, massive investments have been and are still being made in education, health, modernisation of agriculture, social infrastructure and direct payments to poorest households.”

Speaking on health, President Mahama said in furtherance of the country’s battle against HIV/AIDS, a new five-year national strategic plan had been launched to consolidate the gains that had already been made in reducing the prevalence of the disease.

The target of the plan is to achieve a virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission and to expand access to anti-retroviral therapy for persons living with HIV/AIDS.

Meanwhile, the government has committed 150 million Ghana cedis (the equivalent of $80 million as its contribution to the financing of this new strategic plan.

However, President Mahama said, that was not enough, but while the numbers of associated with the disease decreased, so also was global funding for HIV/AIDS programmes.

The president said this left a considerable financing gap for many African countries, such as Ghana, that were trying not only to maintain their progress, but also move closer to complete eradication.

President Mahama thanked the international community for their condolences following the sudden death of President John Evans Atta Mills on July 24.

“Ghanaians were touched by the many heartfelt messages of condolence and glowing tributes that poured in from all over the globe.  Those messages of goodwill strengthened us and enabled us to transcend the adversities of an occurrence that was unprecedented in the history of Ghana,” the President said.

He said the late President Mills was “a dedicated and honourable statesman” who committed himself to bringing about an improvement not only in the lives of Ghanaians but also in the lives of all other Africans and indeed the lives of individuals throughout the world.

“His death was a significant loss and I am certain that he will be sorely missed by the international community.”

President Mahama extended his condolences to the governments and people of Malawi, Guinea Bissau and Ethiopia who also lost their sitting presidents.

Source: GNA