VZCZCXYZ0003
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAR #0194/01 0381714
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071714Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY ACCRA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 6114

UNCLAS ACCRA 000194 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FROM AMBASSADOR BRIDGEWATER 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: OTRA OVIP PREL PGOV ECON AMGT GH
SUBJECT: GHANA: SCENE SETTER FOR SECSTATE VISIT FEBRUARY 19-21, 
2008 
 
¶1.  Warmest Welcome to Ghana Madame Secretary.  Your participation 
in the President's visit comes at the beginning of what promises to 
be another eventful year for Ghana.  After celebrating 50 years of 
independence in 2007, Ghana is preparing to hold Parliamentary and 
presidential elections in late 2008.  At that time, Ghanaians will 
choose a successor to President Kufuor, who is constitutionally 
prohibited from seeking a third term.  In addition to holding 
independence celebrations in 2007, Ghana hosted the African Union 
(AU) summit and co-hosted with the United States the Sixth African 
Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum.  From January 20-February 
10 Ghana has hosted 16 teams from around the African continent in 
the African Nations Cup soccer championship. In April, Ghana will 
host UNCTAD, which will bring thousands of participants to Accra. 
Ghana has made impressive progress in democratic and economic 
development but challenges such as poverty, corruption, lack of 
adequate infrastructure, narcotics trafficking, and an improving but 
still a difficult business climate must be overcome if Ghana is to 
achieve its goal of reaching middle income status by 2015.  U.S. 
interests center on support for Ghana's fifteen-year-old democracy, 
promotion of poverty reduction and shared prosperity, private sector 
development, security cooperation, and enhanced people-to-people and 
cultural ties.  Ghana is home to approximately 5,000 members of the 
African Diaspora, some of whom came at the invitation of Nkrumah at 
the time of Independence.  Ghana is a reliable partner in 
peacekeeping, conflict resolution, counter-terrorism and economic 
development.  President Kufuor recently completed his tenure as 
President of the African Union, and Ghana recently completed its 
term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
2007 AND 2008: IMPORTANT YEARS FOR GHANA 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) In addition to marking 50 years of independence, in 2007 
Ghana hosted the African Union summit (AU), of which Ghana was the 
Chair for 2007, and co-hosted with the United States the Sixth 
African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum.  Ghana is now 
gearing up for the December 2008 Presidential elections to succeed 
President Kufuor who is barred by the Constitution from seeking a 
third term, and to choose a new Parliament.  The 2007 independence 
celebrations provided an opportunity for many Ghanaians to consider 
what Ghana has achieved in the past 50 years, but the year was also 
been marked by reflections on ways to address the opportunities 
missed since independence. 
 
POSITIVE STEPS FORWARD 
--------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Ghana is relatively stable, with an apolitical military, a 
generally good record on human rights, and a lively, free media. 
After 15 years of democratic governance, Ghanaians are deeply 
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 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. 
 
4) (SBU) Politics is increasingly focused on the 2008 election, 
which promises to be a close race between the NDC and the ruling New 
Patriotic Party (NPP).  The NPP defeated the NDC in the two previous 
elections by thin margins.  On December 22 the ruling New Patriotic 
Party (NPP) selected Nana Akufo Addo, former Minister of Foreign 
Affairs, as its candidate from among 17 aspirants, and the National 
Democratic Convention (NDC) has selected 2000 and 2004 party 
flag-bearer, and former Vice President in the Rawlings 
administration, Professor John Atta Mills to contest once again for 
the presidency.  The People's National Convention (PNC) has chosen 
Dr. Edward Mahama who also ran in the 2004 election.  The Convention 
People's Party (CPP) has chosen Paa Kwesi Ndoum, formerly Minister 
for Public Sector Reform and the lead official in developing Ghana's 
MCC Compact.  In 2004, the NPP received 53.4% of votes, the NDC 
received 43.7% of votes, the PNC received 1.9% of votes and the CPP 
received 1% of votes. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The economy has performed generally well under the Kufuor 
administration.  Sound macro-economic policy accompanied by major 
debt relief, large inflows of donor resources and relatively high 
cocoa and gold prices have been key to the steady improvements in 
the real GDP growth, which was more than 6 percent in 2006 and 2007, 
lower inflation and reductions in poverty.  In October 2007 Ghana 
became the first sub-Saharan country other than South Africa to 
successfully enter international capital markets by issuing a $750 
million sovereign bond.  In 2008, Ghana will be the first 
sub-Saharan African country to meet the Millennium Development Goal 
of reducing poverty by 50 percent. 
 
¶6.  (U) USAID provides significant support for Ghana's development, 
averaging about $40 million annually 2004-2007 in addition to $22 - 
 
$25 million in food aid prior to FY 2007.  While food aid is being 
phased out, additional support for malaria and education has 
increased overall funding for USAID to approximately $73 million in 
FY 2008.  Ghana's strong performance was recognized in 2006 with the 
signing of a five-year, $547 million Compact with the Millennium 
Challenge Corporation. The Compact has three main components: 
enhancing profitability of small farmers; reducing transportation 
costs affecting agricultural commerce through improvements in 
transportation infrastructure; and expanding basic community 
services and strengthening rural institutions. 
 
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 is a serious problem and Ghana 
faces human rights challenges relating to child labor and human 
trafficking.  Ghana also faces a range of security challenges, 
including a rise in violent street crime and vigilante justice, 
sometimes violent chieftaincy disputes, a proliferation of small 
arms, and growing problem with narcotics trafficking. 
 
¶8.  (U) Economically, Ghana is vulnerable to external price 
shocks in cocoa and gold, which account for about 65 per cent of 
exports.  It remains heavily dependent on foreign inflows of aid and 
on remittances.  Infrastructure necessary to support growth is poor, 
particularly power generation and water supply.  Last year's energy 
crisis, with scheduled 12 hour power outages every second day has 
subsided, but concerns over long-term energy policies remain.  The 
impact of discovery in 2007 of potentially commercially viable oil 
reserves in Ghanaian waters is a wild card in Ghana's energy and 
economic future. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Social indicators such as maternal and infant mortality 
rates are well below levels in the 1980s but remain high and have 
not changed in ten years.  Access to education has grown but quality 
is a major challenge.  Many Ghanaians do not feel they have 
benefited from the country's macroeconomic success.  According to 
the Center for Democratic Development's 2005 Afrobarometer survey, 
53 percent of respondents thought their standard of living had 
declined over the previous year, compared to 38 percent in a similar 
survey in 2002. 
 
GHANA IN THE WORLD 
------------------ 
 
¶10. (U) Ghana has been playing an increasingly significant and 
positive global leadership role.  It is an active member of the 
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), chaired the 
African Union in 2007, and just-concluded a term as a non-permanent 
member of the UN Security Council.  Ghana is a major contributor of 
troops to UN Peacekeeping Missions and currently has personnel 
serving in Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 
and Lebanon.  Ghana prefers multilateral solutions to global 
problems and has a history of committed African leadership. 
 
GHANA AND THE U.S. 
------------------ 
 
¶11. (SBU) U.S. - Ghana relations are excellent and wide-ranging. 
U.S. Mission in Ghana is the third largest U.S. Mission in Africa, 
and it has the oldest Peace Corps program in the world.  The U.S. 
has strong commercial, political, military-military, 
people-to-people and cultural relations with Ghana.  There is a deep 
reservoir of goodwill toward the United States and appreciation of 
our role and contributions to this society.  The U.S.-Ghana 
partnership stresses and promotes peace, prosperity and progress. 
Approximately 3000 Ghanaian students are studying in the United 
States and the Mission nominates many strong candidates for 
International Visitor Programs that enhance professional 
development.  You presided over the signing of Ghana's MCC Compact 
in August 2006 and most recently met President Kufuor during the UN 
General Assembly meeting in September 2007.  President Kufuor and 
President Bush have met seven times.  President Kufuor hosted Mrs. 
Laura Bush in January 2006 when she launched President Bush's Africa 
Education Initiative in Accra.  There is great media interest and 
excitement in anticipation of this visit, and we look forward to 
welcoming you to experience a bit of Ghana's wonderful success story 
first hand. 
 
BRIDGEWATER