Although he failed to categorically mention the timelines for the departure of the troops, he said, “once the [military] exercise is over, the Americans will leave.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”yn6elNI1iVk76mcNOrlh36aQUdufPEjf”]Many Ghanaians are crying foul over an agreement between the Government of Ghana and the American government for some facilities in the country to be given to US troops to conduct various defence exercises including training Ghanaian military personnel.

As part of the agreement which the Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul has laid before Parliament for approval, the US military will be exempted from paying taxes on equipment they will bring to Ghana.

They will also be allowed to set up a telecommunication system on Ghana’s radio spectrum for free.

Ghanaian authorities will also be restricted from accessing the facilities given to the US officials when they begin using them.

With some suggesting that signing the agreement will mean ceding Ghana’s sovereignty to America, the US Ambassador to Ghana, Robert Jackson, said the presence of the troops must not be seen as an invasion.

“We are going to have three major exercises including one on counter-terrorism exercise. Will bring “a few hundred Americans and several hundred troops from Ghana’s neighbors together with the Ghana Armed Forces so that they learn to work more effectively together… For each exercise, we are looking at up to 200 Americans. This is not an invasion,” he added.

While insisting that Ghana will gain significantly from the activities of the US troops in the country, he said, “20 million dollars being invested in the Ghanaian Armed Forces in one year [2018] is a pretty significant return.”

Rawlings against the move

Former President of Ghana and ex-military leader, Jerry John Rawlings, has joined the many other stakeholders to kick against plans of the government to proceed with the agreement.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Rawlings, who has so far been very supportive of actions of the Akufo-Addo government said Ghanaians are not ready to live with the troops.

“Ghanaians may love Americans, but not to the extent of living with foreign troops on such a scale. Ghanaians have enough foreigners dominating their economic and social life. Adding foreign troops to the discomfort would be a bit too much. Ghanaians have felt stateless before in my lifetime. Let’s not go there again,” said.

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) have also indicated their strong resentment for the move, noting that an approval will open Ghana up for terror.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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In the Ambassador’s view, President Akufo-Addo is “more visionary than some recent Ghanaian leaders.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”yua8RAVKO876k5VNshJALLDMHzlzlTQO”]Commenting on the Akufo-Addo administration’s ‘Ghana Without Aid’ agenda on online news portal, Ghanaweb’s 21 Minutes show, Mr. Jackson was optimistic that “Ghana will get beyond aid and I think it will happen sooner rather than later.”

In the interview, he noted that despite being a long-term plan, the one-district-one-factory policy is key to this vision.

“President Akufo-Addo’s vision of one-district-one-factory may not be realized within his first term or even his first term, if he get’s one. But the idea is exactly what is needed to get beyond aid; that you have to industrialize, that you build your industrial base, that you create jobs so that people do not want to trek across the desert and be potentially enslaved in Libya or even if they make it to Libya, drown in the Mediterranean.”

The one-district-one-factory initiative is intended to leverage the private sector to set up at least one medium to large scale industrial enterprise in each district of Ghana.

The government’s hope is that this will equip and empower communities to utilize their local resources in manufacturing products in a bid to increase agricultural and manufacturing output, reduce reliance on imports and increase the production of consumer goods and food availability.

For Mr. Jackson, the current administration’s willingness to rely on private sector for development is more critical to an economic turnaround.

“I think ex-president Mahama had a vision too, so I want to give him credit where credit is due, his emphasis was on infrastructure, which is very important – schools, clinics, hospitals, roads; President Mahama did a lot for this country,” he said.

But in the Ambassador’s view, President Akufo-Addo’s decision to “make the private sector the engine of growth rather than government being the driving force is how I see the difference between the two of them. Both of them had visions for the country, I think President Akufo-Addo’s vision of private sector-led growth is likely to create more jobs and propel the economy forward faster than the infrastructure investments, but the infrastructure investments were important.”

Ghana’s growth prospects

As evidence of the progress of the economy, President Akufo-Addo, during his 2018 State of the Nation address, cited the strong trajectory of the Ghana Stock Exchange Composite Index in January 2018, which gained 19 percent in dollar terms, according to benchmarks tracked by Bloomberg.

The World Bank has also projected that Ghana’s economy will probably grow by 8.3 percent this year, which will be the fastest in the world in 2018.

The President said he expects these improving macroeconomic indicators to usher Ghana out of the International Monetary Fund programme later this year, after his administration extended the 2015 programme.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Speaking at the 2nd round table discussion on good corporate governance initiative, Ambassador Jackson noted that the instance of corruption in Ghana is keeping most foreign investors away hence his suggestion.

[contextly_sidebar id=”aIe08c3Bj9sn1RRiraDguFv52KBkXKb6″]He therefore called on all stakeholders to rally behind President Akufo-Addo to root out corruption.

“The President has talked about the importance of creating the right environment and making this a business friendly environment…We will like to see some follow up. I will like to see the Special Prosecutor Office established. I think this will send an important signal to him. I will like to say the people who were involved in the Central Medical Stores fire prosecuted. I think that will also send an important signal…Foreign companies I know are looking for the President to show that things are changing. That there is going to be a new approach,” Mr. Jackson said.

The Special Prosecutor office is to enable the government deal with various corruption issues in government.

It was one of the major proposals made by President Akufo-Addo as part of his plans to deal with corruption in government.

Meanwhile former CHRAJ Boss, Justice Emile Short believes that the Office of the Special Prosecutor can be truly independent if the position is advertised and subjected to scrutiny.

Speaking  to Citi News at the 2nd round table discussion on good corporate governance initiative in Accra on Wednesday, Mr. Short suggested processes for selection of the Head of the office should be made transparent and inclusive.

“In order to guarantee the independence of the Head of that office, you have to use an appointment process that is transparent and inclusive. I would have preferred if the position is advertised and anybody who feels he or she is competent and has the qualities to occupy that office apply…I do not for one moment doubt the integrity of the President in appointing someone to occupy that office but I know there are people who will come out and say that that person is under influence and so it will defeat the whole process.”

Confusion over Special Prosecutor’s office

There have been varied opinions about the creation of the office.

Whereas some believe it is in the right direction, the Minority Members of Parliament had threatened to go to court over the matter.

The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, in an earlier Citi News interview insisted that, the Special Prosecutor’s office could not be established without tinkering with Article 88 of the constitution, which deals with the role of the Attorney-General.

“…That is my understanding of the law. It belongs to the executive chapter of the constitution which is entrenched; therefore you cannot be seeking to review that through an Act of Parliament… I am certain that article 88 is entrenched, and not that which can be reviewed simply through a process of an Act of Parliament,” he explained.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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This is according to Press Attache’ at the US Embassy in Ghana, Sarah Stealy.

[contextly_sidebar id=”U8HzhgedOufwj4Cuskq0m4mk5YEHlkNu”]The clarification follows indications that the US government had withdrawn protocol visa allocation to high-level state officials, after the US Ambassador, Robert Jackson met Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee last week.

But speaking to Citi News, Sarah Stealy explained that diplomatic courtesies would still be extended to Ghana’s Former Presidents who embark  on personal visits.

“Under US law, anybody seeking a non immigrant visa to travel to the United States generally need to appear in person for an interview with the Consular Officer. That has been the law. Under the law there are also a few exceptions under which the interview may be raised and that includes when diplomats and officials are travelling on official business to the United States but under the law if they are applying for a new visa for personal travel then they may appear in person for the interview. If there are special circumstances such as a former President coming in and the Ambassador mentioned this, that we have procedures to ensure that we extend courtesies to them. They don’t have to queue up,” she explained.

Why the visa ban?

Explaining his outfit’s position to members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament after an earlier letter informing Parliament about the decision on Thursday, Mr Robert Jackson said: “As for the protocol, normally if you are applying for official travel there is no personal appearance required so there is no reason for your parliamentary protocol officer to come to the Embassy whatever.”

“The normal channel will be for him to pass the visas and passport to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, and their protocol people will be permitted to come to the Embassy, and we will do everything we can to process those visas within 48 hours of receipt. If you are travelling for tourism or business that is not related to government business, you will be required to make a personal appearance even with former Presidents. There are no exceptions.”

This directive follows a similar position taken by the UK High Commission on the issuance of visas for personal visits after some four Members of Parliament were alleged to have engaged in visa fraud.

The United States Embassy in Ghana has since released a statement explaining that the notification on visa allocations to government officials, including MPs and former Presidents visiting the US unofficially is in accordance with already existing US law.

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By: Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Former presidents won’t queue for visas – US Embassy appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

There are reports that the deportees were handcuffed and forced on board the plane to Ghana.

[contextly_sidebar id=”XtncZL9buD9HLZfVgLsZbkctwPM543r6″]But explaining the incident to the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament on Thursday, the Ambassador said that, those Ghanaians were deported involuntarily due to their attempts to resist deportation, although they were staying in the US illegally.

He said the deportees had overstayed their visas.

He added that, the US government had identified about 7,000 Ghanaian citizens who were staying in the US illegally, and that plans were underway to have they brought back to Ghana.

“The 63, who returned recently, arrived in a chartered flight, refused to board a civilian aircraft and return voluntarily. I do not consider the conditions under which they were returned inhumane. They were fed, they had some freedom of movement on the flight. It is not as if they were chained to their seats,” he said.

The Ambassador added that “It is true that 7,000 Ghanaians who have overstayed their visas or are staying in the US illegally are in various stages of the deportation processes. There will be additional deportations because the 7,000 people who are under deportation orders have either committed crimes in the United States or long overstayed the visas on which they entered.”

In November 2016, 108 Ghanaians were also deported. It is unclear if the recent deportation is as a result of the immigration policy of current US President Donald Trump.

Robert Jackson has said that the US is opened to receive Ghanaians who enter the country and reside legally. He said tens of thousands of Ghanaians are currently in the US working legally and face no threat of deportation.

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By: Jonas Nyabor & Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post We didn’t maltreat Ghanaian deportees – US Ambassador appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The two are expected to hold the meeting later today [Thursday, June 22, 2017].

It is reported that about 63 Ghanaian deportees arrived in Ghana last week from the US after authorities found them to be living illegally in that country.

In November 2016, another set of 108 Ghanaians were deported. It is unclear if the recent deportation is as a result of the immigration policy of current US President, Donald Trump.

The US Ambassador to Ghana, Robert Jackson, is expected to answer questions from Members of Parliament on the Committee.

Earlier in May, Mr Robert Jackson indicated that at least 100 Ghanaians had already been deported, and said many others were also expected back home.

“I would say roughly 100 have returned so far this year. More will be returning – it is a constant process. There will probably be a charter aircraft coming with some Ghanaians in the next few weeks. Almost every week we see a few leave voluntarily so it is a process that is ongoing,” he said.

He added that “A few are in jail. Most of them are at liberty, but they have been informed by the immigration service that they must leave the United States.”

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Parliament invites US Embassy over deportation of Ghanaians appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Speaking at an event to cut sod for the construction of a 400 megawatts power in Tema, Mr. Jackson said the government of President Donald Trump will champion these initiatives.

[contextly_sidebar id=”WCyOnwl9bqhsqCwSEpVyT2QIS06UKkp4″]“Access to electricity is fundamental to improving the quality of life and fostering economic growth. I know the power Africa initiative, the partnership for growth and the Millenuim Challenge Account is committed to supporting the transformation of Ghana’s power sector,” he said.

He said the US government as part of efforts to achieve this aim has made a number of financial commitments to the Energy sector.

Enumerating the various projects undertaken by the US government, Mr. Jackson said: “Our USAID mission provides technical assistance for the Ghanaian government as it works to strengthen the energy sectors, institutional and policy framework. US OPEC recently invested 400 million dollars in an independent power plant. The export, import  bank of the United States, funded the 350 million dollars.”

Gov’t debt hit 2.3 billion dollars in 2016

Government’s indebtedness to the energy sector has been cited as one major threats to the growth of the sector.

Documents cited by Citi Business News as at 31st December, 2016, stated that government’s net debt in the Energy sector was 2.3 billion dollars.

A breakdown indicated that, net debt to banks and fuel suppliers amounted to 1.3 billion dollars. A further breakdown also showed that, the banks are owed 782 million dollars, while fuel suppliers are owed 440 million dollars.

State owned power producer, the Volta River Authority (VRA) owed the banks to the tune of 782 million dollars. VRA also contributed 278 million dollars to the 440 million dollars owed fuel suppliers, while TOR contributed 162 million dollars.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

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The Ambassador made the remark when he paid a courtesy call on the Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Oquaye on Friday.

Robert Jackson said he will collaborate with parliament to undertake key governance roles that include the passing of key government bills into laws.

“I will particularly like to work with you [Speaker] and your body [Parliament] to see governance issues addressed such as passing the Right to Information Bill passed into law, ensuring that Members of Parliament can introduce legislation and also ensure that the public accounts committee operates in a way such that the public’s treasures and investments are well spent.”

Robert Jackson, who has been serving as the US Ambassador to Ghana since November 2015, commended Parliament for its role in ensuring that democracy in Ghana is entrenched and upheld.

Making reference to Ghana’s recent political transition, he said the legislature played very important roles in the democratic processes of countries to ensure peace, stability and accountability.

The Ambassador had earlier assured Ghanaians that America will continue to support a prosperous and democratic Ghana under the leadership of Donald Trump.

In a recent media interview ahead of Ghana’s elections, he called for authority and power to be given to Ghana’s parliament to enable it demand accountability from the Executive.

“I would like to see the country proceed with decentralization and provide more power to parliament. I think that those will be steps that will ensure vibrancy of Ghana’s democracy going forward, and make governments more accountable and responsive to Ghanaians,” he emphasized.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor

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The United States (US) Embassy, in condemning the violence ahead of the elections, threatened to revoke visas  for persons who incite violence ahead of the elections. The United Kingdom Embassy, also issued a similar statement.

But the NDC in a press statement, accused the US and the United Kingdom (UK) Embassies of being influenced by what it called the opposition New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) “malicious propaganda.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”IP5nXt3A8GIwGgJQtc8W8pH1pxiHyC1S”]Reacting to the allegation, Mr. Jackson insisted that, the statement, which was drafted in Washington, was not aimed at attacking the government.

“If you read the statement read by the Embassy and made by the Public Spokesperson in Washington , we do not ascribe blame for any act that occurred. The point in issuing the statement was to alert people that the US government is and was concerned about political violence. That message seems to get lost a bit in attempting to say that we are blaming one party or another. The statement does not blame anybody. I want to be really clear about that. The Embassy’s statement which is much longer, is very clear that we were expressing our concern about violence.”

“The statement by the Department’s Spokesperson used the word targeted in terms of talking about  Mr . Akufo Addo’s house; but it does not say who started it, who ended it, and who was responsible; so I want to underscore that we are not trying to take sides,” he said.

Mr. Jackson also indicated that, the US Embassy values its relationship with the various political parties and is also interested in ensuring a free and fair process during the December elections.

“We value our relationship with the government of Ghana. We value our relationship with the National Democratic Congress and with all other political parties. We are not trying to say we support this party or that party. What we support is a fair process and the fairest process will be free of violence and intimidation.”

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline,com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

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