President John Dramani Mahama is promising to use his office as the Chair of ECOWAS to rally support in aid of Guinea Bissau as the country goes through difficult financial times.<\/p>\n
The President made the assurance when he paid a visit to Guinea Bissau to apprise himself of preparations made so far towards their elections this Sunday.<\/p>\n
Guinea Bissau\u2019s\u00a0 presidential and legislative elections on April 13 is aimed at helping to restore democracy two years after a coup that thwarted a previous election and triggered an economic slide in the former Portuguese colony.<\/p>\n
Briefing the media moments after returning to Accra, President Mahama indicated that response to the meetings where positive.<\/p>\n
He however said owing to the dire economic situation that has bedeviled them, ECOWAS would have to intervene by rallying economic support from donor partners for Guinea Bissau.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe situation there is difficult; the economic situation there is difficult, government workers have not been paid for five months and they do need international support,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
President Mahama therefore pledged to rigorously advocate for the country by requesting for aid from the international community because \u201cafter their elections, they need some international support to be able to stabilize the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
He further revealed the level of engagements during his visit and the positive outcomes expected.<\/p>\n
According to him, there was a meeting with all stakeholders including the security services, civil society groups, political parties, religious leaders and the electoral commission.<\/p>\n
The President added that the people of Guinea Bissau were admonished to ensure an incident-free election as the elections \u201cis a pivotal event that will turn around the fortunes of that country\u2026I think that this is the opportunity for them to make a fresh start.\u201d<\/p>\n
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By: Efua Idan Osam\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana
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