VZCZCXRO5510
OO RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHAR #2320/01 3051515
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 011515Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY ACCRA
TO RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5645

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ACCRA 002320 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/W; FBI PLEASE PASS TO DEPUTY DIRECTOR JOHN 
PISTOLE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL SNAR ASEC ECON EAID GH
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR PISTOLE'S 
VISIT TO ACCRA 
 
¶1.  (SBU) We look forward to your November 9 visit and 
provide the following background: 
 
¶2.  (SBU) SUMMARY: Ghana celebrates its fiftieth anniversary 
in 2007 as Sub-Saharan Africa's first independent country. It 
has emerged from a turbulent history into a period of 
stability, democracy and sustained economic growth.  Despite 
some important successes, however, Ghana continues to 
struggle to deal with persistent poverty, political 
divisiveness, narcotics trafficking, corruption, governance 
and security.  Ghana and the United States enjoy strong ties 
and bilateral relations are at an all-time high.  Ghana is a 
reliable partner in peacekeeping, conflict resolution, 
counter-terrorism, and economic development.  U.S. interests 
center on sQZQQkQt seat on the UN Security Council.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2007 AN IMPORTANT YEAR FOR GHANA 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) On March 6, Ghana celebrated its 50th anniversary of 
independence. Secretary for Housing and Urban Development 
Alphonso Jackson led the U.S. delegation marking the event. 
Ghana chairs the African Union (AU) for 2007 and hosted an AU 
Summit in June.  Nearly every African head of state attended 
this Summit, which debated but did not reach consensus on the 
future of African integration.  The African Growth and 
Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum was held in July in Accra. 
President Kufuor has traveled widely this year, including a 
state visit to Britain, and attendance at the G8 Summit and 
UN General Assembly. 
 
MANY POSITIVE STEPS FORWARD... 
------------------------------ 
 
¶4. (SBU) After 15 years of democratic governance, Ghanaians 
are committed to democracy.  Ghana has held four consecutive 
free and fair national elections.  While parliament is weak 
and the main parties are increasingly polarized, there is 
genuine political space for the opposition and almost half of 
parliamentary seats are held by the main opposition National 
Democratic Congress (NDC) party.  Civil society groups, 
particularly religious associations, are well organized. 
Ghana's strong religiosity and cl \CQQX'=c.QMuslims and Christians have supported a culture of tolerance. 
 Ghana is relatively stable, with an apolitical military, a 
strong record on human rights, and a lively, free media. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Politics is increasingly focused on the 2008 
presidential and parliamentary election, which promises to be 
a close race between the NDC and the ruling New Patriotic 
Party (NPP). However, two smaller political parties have 
generated considerable interest to date and could make the 
race tighter. Presently, more than 15 candidates are seeking 
the presidency, but the field will be whittled down to four 
or five later this year when party nominees are selected. The 
NPP defeated the NDC in the two previous elections by thin 
margins. 
 
¶6.  (U) The economy has performed generally well under 
President Kufuor.  Major debt relief, large inflows of donor 
resources, and relatively high cocoa and gold prices have 
been key to the steady improvements in real GDP growth, which 
in 2004 topped 5 per cent for the first time in a decade and 
reached an estimated 6.2 per cent in 2006.  Overall poverty 
rQQYk/tartsO#UHeflation has stayed low (currently 
at 12 per cent).  And in 2007, a promising offshore oil 
discovery was made in Ghanaian waters. 
 
YET DIFFICULT CHALLENGES REMAIN 
------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Despite Ghana's democracy and stability, politics is 
deeply polarized, political power is highly centralized, and 
democratic institutions are weak.  Corruption and cronyism 
are serious problems and Ghana faces human rights challenges 
relating to child labor and human trafficking.  Economically, 
Ghana is highly vulnerable to price shocks in cocoa, gold, 
and to a lesser extent, timber (which together account for 70 
per cent of exports).  It remains heavily dependent on 
foreign inflows of aid and on remittances.  Financial 
services are growing but Ghana remains largely a cash society 
 
ACCRA 00002320  002 OF 002 
 
 
and access to credit is difficult, short-term and expensive. 
Infrastructure necessary to support growth is poor, 
particularly power generation and water supply.  Over the 
last year, Ghana experienced a serious energy crisis with 
12-hour power outages every second day.  While the crisis 
seems to have subsided slightly, concerns over long-term 
energy policies remain. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Ghana also faces a range of security challenges, 
including a rise in violent street crime and vigilante 
justice, a proliferation of small arms, and narcotics 
trafficking. Ghana is increasingly becoming a major transit 
point for cocaine and heroin bound for Europe and the United 
States. Narcotics scandals over the past year (one involving 
the disappearance of 2 tons of cocaine) have implicated 
senior police officials. The GOG does not have a strong 
handle on this problem, although it did act effectively in 
cooperating with the USG on October 22 to arrest and expel to 
the U.S. two important Afghan heroin traffickers. The UK 
provides assistance to the GOG primarily through its 
Operation Westbridge, which targets couriers and air cargo at 
Kotoka International Airport.  The UK and the GOG also 
launched a new public awareness campaign on October 24. 
 
GHANA IN THE WORLD 
------------------ 
 
¶9. (U) Ghana has lately been playing an increasingly 
significant global leadership role as a non-permanent member 
of the UN Security Council, active member of the Economic 
Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and 2007 Chair of 
the AU.  Ghana has preferred multilateral solutions to global 
problems and has a history of pan-African leadership. 
Founding father Kwame Nkrumah's pan-African vision is still 
prominent in the Ghanaian mindset and is reflected in the 
four pillars of Ghana's foreign policy: a commitment to 
multilateralism, pan-Africanism, non-alignment, and "good 
neighborliness." 
 
GHANA AND THE U.S. 
------------------ 
 
¶10. (SBU) U.S. - Ghana relations are excellent and 
wide-ranging.  The U.S. Mission in Ghana is the third-largest 
U.S. Mission in Africa and includes the oldest Peace Corps 
program in the world and a $55 million bilateral USAID 
program.  The U.S. also has strong commercial, political, 
military-military, and people-to-people relations with Ghana. 
 President Kufuor has met President Bush seven times and 
hosted the First Lady in January 2006.  In August 2006, Ghana 
signed a $547 million anti-poverty Compact with the United 
States, Millennium Challenge Corporation.  The Compact 
focuses on accelerating growth and poverty reduction through 
agricultural and rural development.  The Compact has three 
main components: enhancing the profitability of commercial 
agriculture among small farmers; reducing the transportation 
costs affecting agricultural commerce through improvements in 
transportation infrastructure, and expanding basic community 
services and strengthening rural institutions that support 
agriculture and agri-business. 
BROWN