VZCZCXYZ0014
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAR #0747/01 2171405
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051405Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY ACCRA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8077
INFO RUEHLU/AMEMBASSY LUANDA 0077
RUEHMV/AMEMBASSY MONROVIA 0846
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 2202
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT 0070
RUEAHQA/OSAF WASHDC

UNCLAS ACCRA 000747 
 
CODEL 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR H, RM/F/DFS/FO/AA/CAA, AND AF/W 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OREP OTRA OVIP PREL PGOV ECON GH
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR CODEL RUSH 
 
REF: STATE 76867 
 
¶1.  (U) Our entire mission joins me in extending to CODEL 
Rush a 
very warm welcome to Ghana. We hope your visit here helps 
inform you, 
and we look forward to supporting your objectives. 
 
¶2. (U) SUMMARY. Ghana,s December, 2008 election saw the 
country,s 
second peaceful transfer of power between political parties 
since the nation,s 
return to constitutional democracy in 1992.  Professor John 
Evans Atta Mills, 
a former vice-president (and Fulbright Scholar) was elected 
President 
in a narrow run-off election.  His party, the National 
Democratic 
Congress, gained enough seats in Parliament to be, with minor 
party support, 
the governing party. Ghana faces economic challenges, 
particularly high 
inflation and large budget and current account deficits. 
However, 
economic growth is expected to be positive in 2009, and the 
country 
should begin exporting oil by 2011. Ghana has a good record 
on human 
rights, an apolitical military, and a lively media. Progress 
continues on the implementation of the $547 million compact 
through the 
Millennium Challenge Corporation. 
 
¶3. (U) Summary continued:  Ghana has made impressive progress 
in 
democratic and economic development but challenges such as 
poverty, 
corruption, lack of adequate infrastructure, an improving but 
still 
difficult business climate, and narcotics trafficking 
(cocaine and 
heroin) must be overcome if Ghana is to achieve its goal of 
reaching 
middle income status by 2015. 
 
¶4. (U) U.S. interests center on support for Ghana's democracy, 
improvement in health, poverty reduction and shared 
prosperity, private 
sector development, security cooperation, and enhanced 
people-to-people 
and cultural ties. Ghana is a reliable partner in 
peacekeeping, conflict 
resolution, countering terrorism and in economic development. 
We share 
with the Government of Ghana a growing concern about Ghana,s 
role as a 
transshipment point for narcotics, particularly cocaine from 
Latin America. 
END SUMMARY 
 
 
THE 2008 ELECTION 
------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Ghana,s 2008 election saw the country,s second 
peaceful 
transfer of power between political parties.  Former 
President John Kufuor 
was constitutionally limited from a third term in office. 
Ghana,s main 
political parties, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the 
National 
Democratic Congress (NDC), along with several minor parties, 
staged a 
hard fought campaign.  The NPP was led by the former Foreign 
Minister, Nana 
Akufo-Addo. In the first round of presidential voting, none 
of candidates 
received a majority of the votes cast, necessitating a 
run-off election, 
which was won by less than 40,000 votes out of over 9 million 
votes cast, 
by the NDC,s candidate, former vice-president and law 
professor, John Evans 
Atta Mills. Domestic and international election observers 
declared the 
election to be free, transparent and to have reflected the 
will of the people. 
The U.S. Mission in Ghana fielded eighty election observer 
teams as part of 
The international election observation program. 
 
¶6. (U). Even prior to the 2008 election campaigns, the main 
parties 
were highly polarized. However, Ghanaian voters showed a 
strong 
commitment to peaceful elections, and other than a few violent 
incidents during the campaign, the election was generally 
peaceful. Civil 
society, particularly religious associations, is active, and 
worked for 
months ahead of the voting to promote peaceful elections. 
 
 
THE MILLS ADMINISTRATION 
------------------------- 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) Ghana is a stable country, with an apolitical 
military, a 
solid record on human rights, and a lively, free media. 
After 17 years of democratic governance, Ghanaians are 
committed to 
democracy.  Ghana has held five consecutive democratic 
national 
elections deemed to have been free and fair.  The constitution 
provides parliament with little power relative to the 
executive, and the 
legislature lacks basic resources such as staffing. 
 
¶8. (SBU) President Mills, cabinet contains several members 
who 
served in the last NDC government under former President 
Rawlings. 
The cabinet includes a mix of technocrats and elected Members 
of Parliament. 
Mills campaigned on a pledge to have 40% of senior government 
positions 
filled by women, and a large number of women have been 
appointed to 
positions (even though 20% fewer women were elected to 
parliament in 2008). 
 
 
¶9. (SBU) Ghana,s foreign policy is unlikely to change 
significantly 
under the Mills administration. Ghana will continue to provide 
military support for peacekeeping operations. Domestically, 
the  President 
pledged to improve health care, education, and campaigned on 
a platform of 
making investments to lead to job creation. Economic 
conditions, 
including budget deficits, may delay the implementation of NDC 
priorities. 
 
 
U.S. ASSISTANCE TO GHANA 
----------------------- 
 
¶10. (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 HIV/AIDS, malaria and 
education under 
the special Presidential Initiatives has increased overall 
funding for 
USAID  to approximately $115 million in FY 2009.  Ghana's 
strong 
performance was recognized in 2006 with the signing of a 
five-year, 
$547 million Compact with the Millennium Challenge 
Corporation, 
aimed at transforming Ghana,s agricultural sector.  The 
Compact 
has three main components: enhancing profitability of small 
farmers; 
reducing costs affecting agricultural commerce through 
improvements in infrastructure, including roads; and 
expanding basic 
 
services in thirty key agricultural districts. Ghana is the 
original 
Peace Corps country, with volunteers serving here since 1961; 
today, 
approximately 130 volunteers are working at the community 
level in 
education, health awareness, water and sanitation, and 
environmental 
protection. The PEPFAR program in Ghana will expand this year 
to $17 
million, and is the largest HIV/AIDS donor supported 
prevention 
program in the country. 
 
 
DIFFICULT CHALLENGES REMAIN 
--------------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Despite Ghana's democracy and stability, political 
power 
is centralized in the executive, and institutions such as the 
judiciary, are still developing and often under-resourced. 
Corruption is a 
factor, 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 succession disputes, and a 
growing problem 
with narcotics trafficking. This trafficking involves the 
transshipment 
of cocaine from Latin America, and to a lesser degree heroin 
from 
Central Asia, into Europe and the U.S. The Ghana Police 
Service and 
other authorities have requested assistance in countering 
narcotics; 
the police have also been at the center of scandals involving 
the 
disappearance of seized cocaine. In 2009 the U.S. Drug 
Enforcement 
Administration opened an office in Accra, and the USG gets 
good 
cooperation in counternarcotics efforts. 
 
 
¶12. (SBU) Despite shocks to the economy from the current 
fiscal 
crisis based on two years of pre-election over-spending, 
inflationary 
trends caused by global food shortages, spiking fuel prices, 
and currency 
depreciation throughout 2008, and the global financial crisis, 
Ghana's growth is still expected to be positive in 2009, 
largely due to 
buoyant gold and cocoa prices on the world market. However, 
Ghana's economic 
situation is difficult. The country is challenged by 
unsustainable 
twin deficits-the current account deficit is at about 11 
percent of 
GDP, and its trade deficit is 26 percent of GDP--mostly due 
to the 
high oil prices of 2008.  Ghana is running a budget deficit 
of about 14.9 
percent of GDP. Ghana,s major sources of foreign exchange 
include exports of 
cocoa, gold, and diamonds which account for more than 65 
percent of 
exports. Remittances from overseas workers are also 
economically 
important, and declined 30 percent between December 2008 
and January 2009, double the median change over the past four 
years. 
The drop in remittances is causing layoffs in the banking 
sector as 
well as a dearth of foreign exchange available to the 
government.  Ghana 
is also dependent on foreign assistance, with 40 percent of 
its budget 
coming from Development Partners. Inflation crossed 20 
percent in 
February 2009.  Meanwhile, the Ghana cedi continues the 2008 
trend 
of depreciation against the dollar and other world 
currencies--falling 
by 15.5 percent the first five months of 2009 alone. The 
impact of the 
2007 discovery of commercially viable offshore oil reserves 
is a wild 
card in Ghana's energy and economic future.  Oil production 
is expected by 
¶2011. Once the Government of Ghana begins receiving oil 
revenue the 
financial windfall will likely present significant revenue 
management 
challenges as well as development opportunities. 
 
¶13.  (SBU) Social indicators such as maternal and infant 
mortality 
rates are substantially better than levels in the 1980s but 
maternal 
mortality remain very high. The mortality rate of children 
under five 
has dropped sharply from 111 per 1,000 live births in 2003 to 
80 per 
1,000 live births as of 2008, an indicator of important 
progress 
including reduced mortality from malaria. Primary school 
attendance in 2007-8 reached 95% of potential students, 
although 
quality is lacking. Poverty levels have decreased from 52% in 
1992 to 28% in 
¶2007. Ghanaians have mixed opinions on whether they have 
benefited 
From the country,s macroeconomic success.  According to the 
2008 Afrobarometer survey, 45 percent of respondents thought 
that the country,s economic policies were fair or good, 
but a similar percentage disagreed. 
 
 
 
GHANA IN THE WORLD 
------------------ 
 
¶14. (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 recently concluded a term as a non-permanent 
member of the 
UN Security Council.  Ghana is the world,s seventh largest 
contributor of 
troops to UN Peacekeeping Missions and currently has personnel 
serving in Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the 
Congo, and 
Lebanon.  Ghanaian elder statesman and former UN Secretary 
General 
Kofi Annan helped broker a fragile power-sharing agreement in 
Kenya. 
Ghana is also a member of the International Atomic Energy 
Agency. Ghana 
prefers multilateral solutions to global problems and has a 
history of 
committed African leadership, based on consensus among 
players. 
 
 
¶15. (SBU) Our bilateral relations are exceptionally good, and 
Ghanaians and citizens of the U.S. share a love of democracy, 
human rights, 
educational opportunity, free enterprise, peace and stability. 
There is a deep reservoir of goodwill toward the United 
States and 
a genuine appreciation of our role and contributions to this 
society. 
We attribute much of this good will to our sustained public 
diplomacy 
efforts, particularly our student and professional exchanges 
programs, 
which currently facilitate the travel of more than 100 
Ghanaians and 
Americans between our two countries each year. Approximately 
3000 
Ghanaian students are studying in the United States in 
forty-four 
states, and the Mission nominates many strong candidates 
for International Visitor Programs that enhance professional 
development.  Ghana, in partnership with AFRICOM, has made 
great 
strides in developing its maritime domain awareness, 
improving its 
commercial port security and safeguarding its territorial 
waters. 
Africa Partnership Station, a six-month U.S. deployment to 
the Gulf of 
Guinea, wrapped up training in Ghana in March, providing 
courses to 
personnel of the Ghana Navy and civilian maritime agencies. 
 
¶16. (U) Again, the members of the U.S. Mission in Accra look 
forward 
to welcoming you to experience some of Ghana,s successes and 
challenges 
first hand. 
HELLYER