Q&A With President John Kufuor

President John Kufuor of Ghana, who recently returned from meetings with President George W. Bush and administration officials in Washington, took over the reins of power in the West African country six months ago. Since then, he has been busying himself with the task of helping Ghana recover from the effects of the previous regime, led by former President Jerry Rawlings. Left with a country burdened by economic turmoil and the ravages of social injustices, Mr. Kufuor spoke with Barbra Murray of the International Herald Tribune about his plans to lead Ghana out of its troubles.

Q. There have been hints that former President Rawlings has thoughts of overthrowing your regime. How significant are the threats of a coup?

A. The threat of a coup is very, very minimal. In fact, it's not in the offing at all, because the people are resolved not to tolerate it. And it's not just the people; even the Organization of African Unity passed a resolution against it. The larger international community is against this, so I don't see it. You need to be in Ghana to feel the mood of the people. I'll tell you, yes, Mr. Rawlings has been talking, but definitely not reflecting the mood of the people. People are against any interference with the constitutional processes of government. So we know Mr. Rawlings is talking, but we interpret the situation as one of his not finding it easy to adjust to the reality of it.

Q. Mr. Rawlings left Ghana with a great deal of debt. How do you plan on easing your economic troubles, and will you be able to maintain Ghanaians' morale during these difficult times?

A. By showing the people that this is a government that understands the problem deeply and has the capability and competence to pursue policies that will turn the situation around for stability and further progress. And we've started doing it. We try to take some very hard and far-reaching positions, like taking the HIPC [Heavily Indebted Poor Country] initiative for us to seek debt relief from our development partners to enable us to arrest the situation, and also direct resources to reduce poverty among the people.

Q. You are also faced with a market that offers a decreasing value for your two main exports, cocoa and gold. Will you try to export other products?

A. Ghana has a rich land that can grow cotton, cashew nuts, pineapple - everything grows there. We are positioning ourselves to benefit by the African Growth and Opportunity Act of the United States, so we can sell whatever we can produce. What we are doing more is that we want more investments from the U.S., industrial partnerships so we can produce both the raw and manufactured goods.

Q. Some say the people of Ghana suffered social injustices under Mr. Rawlings' government, and you are advocating a truth and reconciliation commission. How do you hope such a commission will help Ghanaians heal?

A. It will serve to allow people to speak up. People were not allowed by the situation in the past to complain about the injustices they suffered for the past 20 years. This commission will give them a platform, and we believe this way we will reduce the tension, the bottled-up feelings. It is the best way to normalize the situation. And then whoever did some wrong will also be given an opportunity to sort of own up and show remorse, and this way the government is helping to pacify their wrongs.

Q. Why are you not calling for the punishment of those who committed these wrongs?

A. Government hasn't given amnesty to anybody. It's just that government does not want to pursue any retributive measures. We believe we have to draw the line somewhere. While we won't forget, we should be able to forgive some of the wrongs. The government wants to manage the situation so things do not get out of control. If the government doesn't establish this commission, some individuals might want to take the law into their own hands, to avenge their losses.

I want to leave everything to the commission. It will be independent to make its ruling as to how to move.

Q. How do you hope Ghana to be different at the end of your term?

A. We expect Ghana to be efficiently managed economically. We expect it to enjoy rule of law with accountable government; with a society that lives in a country of law and order; a society that will have quality education and access to health for all at affordable rates; a society that lives well within the neighborhood of West Africa, where people can move in and out as they choose; where business would be allowed to grow in partnership with investors from all over the world.

Q. What do you want the world to know about news on Ghana?

A. There are elements trying to exploit the Internet to create doubts about the solid development that is happening in Ghana now since our government took over. So, I want everybody who surfs the Internet to be always aware that not everything that comes on the Internet is the truth.

President John Kufuor of Ghana, who recently returned from meetings with President George W. Bush and administration officials in Washington, took over the reins of power in the West African country six months ago. Since then, he has been busying himself with the task of helping Ghana recover from the effects of the previous regime, led by former President Jerry Rawlings. Left with a country burdened by economic turmoil and the ravages of social injustices, Mr. Kufuor spoke with Barbra Murray of the International Herald Tribune about his plans to lead Ghana out of its troubles.

Q. There have been hints that former President Rawlings has thoughts of overthrowing your regime. How significant are the threats of a coup?

A. The threat of a coup is very, very minimal. In fact, it's not in the offing at all, because the people are resolved not to tolerate it. And it's not just the people; even the Organization of African Unity passed a resolution against it. The larger international community is against this, so I don't see it. You need to be in Ghana to feel the mood of the people. I'll tell you, yes, Mr. Rawlings has been talking, but definitely not reflecting the mood of the people. People are against any interference with the constitutional processes of government. So we know Mr. Rawlings is talking, but we interpret the situation as one of his not finding it easy to adjust to the reality of it.

Q. Mr. Rawlings left Ghana with a great deal of debt. How do you plan on easing your economic troubles, and will you be able to maintain Ghanaians' morale during these difficult times?

A. By showing the people that this is a government that understands the problem deeply and has the capability and competence to pursue policies that will turn the situation around for stability and further progress. And we've started doing it. We try to take some very hard and far-reaching positions, like taking the HIPC [Heavily Indebted Poor Country] initiative for us to seek debt relief from our development partners to enable us to arrest the situation, and also direct resources to reduce poverty among the people.

Q. You are also faced with a market that offers a decreasing value for your two main exports, cocoa and gold. Will you try to export other products?

A. Ghana has a rich land that can grow cotton, cashew nuts, pineapple - everything grows there. We are positioning ourselves to benefit by the African Growth and Opportunity Act of the United States, so we can sell whatever we can produce. What we are doing more is that we want more investments from the U.S., industrial partnerships so we can produce both the raw and manufactured goods.

Q. Some say the people of Ghana suffered social injustices under Mr. Rawlings' government, and you are advocating a truth and reconciliation commission. How do you hope such a commission will help Ghanaians heal?

A. It will serve to allow people to speak up. People were not allowed by the situation in the past to complain about the injustices they suffered for the past 20 years. This commission will give them a platform, and we believe this way we will reduce the tension, the bottled-up feelings. It is the best way to normalize the situation. And then whoever did some wrong will also be given an opportunity to sort of own up and show remorse, and this way the government is helping to pacify their wrongs.

Q. Why are you not calling for the punishment of those who committed these wrongs?

A. Government hasn't given amnesty to anybody. It's just that government does not want to pursue any retributive measures. We believe we have to draw the line somewhere. While we won't forget, we should be able to forgive some of the wrongs. The government wants to manage the situation so things do not get out of control. If the government doesn't establish this commission, some individuals might want to take the law into their own hands, to avenge their losses.

I want to leave everything to the commission. It will be independent to make its ruling as to how to move.

Q. How do you hope Ghana to be different at the end of your term?

A. We expect Ghana to be efficiently managed economically. We expect it to enjoy rule of law with accountable government; with a society that lives in a country of law and order; a society that will have quality education and access to health for all at affordable rates; a society that lives well within the neighborhood of West Africa, where people can move in and out as they choose; where business would be allowed to grow in partnership with investors from all over the world.

Q. What do you want the world to know about news on Ghana?

A. There are elements trying to exploit the Internet to create doubts about the solid development that is happening in Ghana now since our government took over. So, I want everybody who surfs the Internet to be always aware that not everything that comes on the Internet is the truth.