Ghana so free even diplomats join in national discourse – Akufo-Addo

President Nana Akufo-Addo has said there is so much freedom of speech in Ghana to the extent that even diplomats partake in the country's national discourse—something he said would be frowned upon in those diplomats' home countries if the tables were turned.

"Today, we live in a country in which we enjoy complete freedom of expression, freedom of association, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, and political affiliation", Mr. Akufo-Addo told parliament in his state of the nation address on Wednesday, March 8, 2023.

"Indeed, freedom of speech has now reached such heights that even members of the diplomatic corps feel able to join in our national discourse and pronounce on matters that would be problematic for Ghanaian diplomats in their countries of origin," Mr. Akufo-Addo noted.

"Nevertheless, Mr Speaker, it seems to me the important thing in our free speech environment is actually to try and hear each other instead of raising the decibel level of our individual points of view", he told the house.

A few days ago, German Ambassador to Ghana Daniel Krull said Germany was ready and willing to help achieve debt relief for Ghana but insisted it would only do that if the government of Ghana would put its house in order.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Friday, February 3 2023, urged Germany to "encourage" China, an ad hoc member of the Paris Club, to support Ghana's debt restructuring efforts.

He said it was critical that the Paris Club swiftly establishes, with the participation of other official creditors, a creditors committee, to support the efforts that would enable Ghana to restore economic growth.

The Ghanaian leader made the call when the visiting German Finance Minister, Christian Lindner, called on him at the Jubilee House, Accra.

Linden, who led a delegation from his country, held bilateral talks with the President aimed at boosting relations and economic ties between the two nations.

President Akufo-Addo told the minister that the main concern for his government was to conclude negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), particularly at the Board Level and seal a deal with the Bretton Woods institution by mid-March this year.

"Our main concern right now is the arrangements that we are in the process of concluding with the IMF…and the specific assistance that will be useful to us and help us fast-track the process".

"Our target is that by the middle of March, we should be before the Board for the full agreement. We have already taken one important step forward in concluding a staff-level agreement with the IMF, and we are now looking to go the full haul in concluding the agreement. We are hoping that it will be done by the middle of March".

"One of the steps towards that has been the domestic debt exchange programme that we are on, which fortunately, we have quite a lot of difficulties, has now been virtually concluded," he stated.

However, President Akufo-Addo stressed that there was a vital need for other creditors to support the efforts that his government was undertaking to restructure both the external and domestic debts of the country to enable the IMF deal to fall through quickly.

"We now have our relations with the Paris club and the common framework, and we are looking for as quickly as possible a creditor committee to be established, so we will have the body with whom we can engage to bring those discussions as quickly as possible".

"We have good relations with China. We will like you to encourage China to participate in these programmes as quickly as possible…A very important consideration for us is the financial stability fund that has been promised us as one of the key outcomes of these negotiations and definitely once again, your voice in trying to bring that into being is something that we would appreciate very much," President Akufo-Addo told Finance Minister Lindner.