President Kufuor arrives from CHOGM

Accra, Nov. 26, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor returned to Accra on Monday after attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kampala, Uganda.

He was accompanied by some senior government officials. During a press briefing, Mr. Andrew Awuni, presidential spokesperson, said out of the 51 Commonwealth member states that attended the summit, 36 were represented by their heads of state. He said Ghana was elected unto the nine-member Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, the decision-making body of the group, and pointed out that the election was in recognition of Ghana's good governance practices.

By the election, Ghana takes the place of Tanzania and would serve for two years.

Mr. Awuni said one of the main decisions taken at the summit was the suspension of Pakistan from the Commonwealth as a result of its failure to go by the body's recommendations on good governance practices.

He said the heads of government agreed to adhere to good governance practices such as separation of powers, rule of law and democratic principles.

Mr Awuni said the summit also served as a peer review mechanism where members assessed each other's performance in governance. He said African Heads of State also vowed to fight human trafficking, adding that member countries were also reviewed in terms of their achievement of the millennium development goals. He said child mortality was also a major topic of discussion at the summit.

The summit which was presided over by Queen Elizabeth II, head of the Commonwealth of Nations, elected Dr Kamalesh Sharma, an Indian career diplomat, as the new Secretary General. Dr Sharma takes over from Mr Don McKinnon.

At the airport to meet the president was Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Ministers of State, the Chief of the Defence Staff, Lt. Gen. J.B. Danquah, and other senior military and police personnel.