Shaka: Any particular reason as to why you do not have a uniform mechanism for resolving some of those conflicts in the region. For example you were able to resolve, to reject if I might in fact use the word, the coup that took place in Sao Tome and Principe but at the same time, you were able to more or less concede to the coup in Guinea Bissau. Now there are people who are saying the reason you couldn't for example compromise on Sao Tome and Principe is probably because of the black gold there. Any truth in that?
President J. A. Kufuor: I think you've been misadvised. We averted the coup in Guinea Bissau too. I went there with President Obasanjo and President Wade of Senegal to meet with the Generals who had forced the previous President out of power or something like that. Fortunately, the Generals had not assumed office as the new Governors, so we went to tell them and to the Civil Society too that the sub-region would not recognise the coup de’tat nor would we recognise even a semblance of a coup de’tat and that if the former President to them was not performing, what they should do was for the military and the Civil Society to get together to get a civilian successor to the previous President so there wouldn't be even a semblance of a coup de’tat.
The Generals agreed with us and this is why Guinea Bissau has a new President who is a civilian. In fact, he visited me about two, three weeks ago. So it wasn't quite a coup. In fact, the Military allowed the former President to write a letter of resignation; that he was stepping down as President and it was on that basis the new President was invited to come and take over. It wasn't a coup de’tat and it was never the consideration of the black gold in Sao Tome that influenced us to try to prevent the coup there. It was not that.
Shaka: I see, What about Liberia, we get reports for example that Charles Taylor, the former President of Liberia who of course is at present in exile in Nigeria around Calabar that he continues some how to influence things on the ground in Monrovia. We have also heard that the current interim leader Gyude Bryant has actually called for his indictment. What is the position of ECOWAS on this?
President J. A. Kufuor: I remember President Obasanjo had cause about a month and a half or so ago to advise former President Taylor to be a good Sojourner in Nigeria, meaning if it was established that President Taylor was interfering in the administration of Liberia from where he is now in Nigeria, then Nigeria might withdraw the asylum granted to him. This should show that nobody within ECOWAS is condoning any meddling or subversion from President Taylor. The fact that President Obasanjo had the cause to repeat the warning or to take some action that might be interpreted as President Taylor having offended his stay with President Obasanjo should be taken that President Taylor is living within the limits of decency in Nigeria.
As to the fact that new President in Liberia or Chairman demanding that President Taylor should be prosecuted, that is a different thing altogether and I can't pretend I know enough to say whether Mr. Bryant is right or is wrong in his demand. I think as Head of State there now, perhaps he's got his rights and one shouldn't meddle in the way he exercises his rights there.
Shaka: In your current position as the chairman of ECOWAS, if you were to look Straight in Charles Taylor's eyes and talk to him where he is in Calabar where perhaps he is watching you, what would you say to him that he needs to do in order to make sure that peace and stability is restored back in his homeland.
President J. A. Kufuor: I would say to him that he did very well for his country by voluntarily stepping down for the current arrangement to take place and since it is a process, I would urge him to continue to stay out so the transitional government could perform to restore the nation back to democratic normalcy. He himself said if he was perceived to be the cause of the trouble and chaos in the country, then he was prepared to go and it was on that basis he eventually left. I don't think anybody can say that all these troubles are over yet.
In fact the transitional government has barely resumed functioning so President Taylor will be advised to stay out of the scene and allow the new government enough room to perform and to prepare the country for the election that all well wishers expect within two years within the country.
Shaka: Thank you very much. Lets go to, still in Ghana Asoboya, Asoboya from Ghana good evening. You are most welcome to “Straight Talk Africa.”
Asoboya: Hello!
Shaka: Could you please reduce the volume on your television monitor because we are getting an echo on the line.
Asoboya: Please I will first of all like to congratulate the President for the wonderful work he has been doing so far. Besides that, I still think there is room for him to improve especially up Northern Ghana, where I'm speaking from. Talking of the roads, he has concentrated so much on Accra leaving the northern sector where we have places like Bongo District which hasn't got any tarred road. So I think there is still room for him to do a lot of improvement. I will also like to congratulate him on the way he has been able to maintain peace and stability in the country. I think I'm done.
Shaka: Thank you very much. Lets go to Ama, is it Ama or Ann in Ghana? Good evening, you are most welcome to Straight Talk Africa.
Ann: Good evening, My name is Ann Mrs. Jondiando. I'm calling from Accra.
Shaka: Go ahead please.
Ann: Well everybody has congratulated him and I'm also joining them in congratulating him. But my issue is that, we would like to see more women appointed to certain sensitive positions. I believe that there are a few more women around who can also be elevated or encouraged to occupy certain positions. When you look at the population of Ghana, I think women account for about 51 per cent. They are slightly more than the men and when you have the men taking a lump, a big share of positions, executive positions, then the women will like to see a lot more of them, of their kind in certain sensitive positions. I would also like to say that the President has done well enough but when it comes to HIV/AIDS, I would want to entreat him, the way people love him and the way people respect him, anytime that he mounts a podium any where, regardless of whether it is related or not, he should allocate about five minutes or 10 minutes of his time to talk about HIV. Something small and once he does it all the time, it will go a long way because if we are saying he is succeeding in everything and HIV is just consuming and killing the people, then the people that he is working for will be dying. I would entreat him to do that for us. He and the First Lady as well. Thank you very much for giving me the time.
Shaka: Thank you very much. What about that Mr President?
President J. A. Kufuor: Yes I will take the three points raised. One on the roads in the north. I want to thank Aliu for the nice tribute, he paid and I would say that I accept his criticism in good faith. The north in a way is lagging behind but we would also admit that the north has not been abandoned all together. The point is, making a road takes quite a long time and we were taking pains to ensure that all the 10 regions of Ghana get their fair share of development. This is happening.
Some roads are being made even in the north as I speak but this particular road he mentioned truly has not seen even an inch of bitumen. Government will try and get there but I'm sure he would admit three years is just about the beginning and hopefully in due cause, not too long a time, we will get there so I would ask him for his continuous support and goodwill and faith that this government will not disappoint the north. That's what I want to say on the roads and this goes for all the other parts of the country where government hasn't managed to get there yet to lay the infrastructure. With regard to the women in positions, again, I want to thank the contributor for the kind appreciation. I would say that truly if you take the statistical breakdown of men and women, women are in majority in the country. If you take it so categorically, then you will be right in saying that women are not fairly represented. Unfortunately, we are coming away from a history in which the women somehow were always left behind and this government appreciating this in-built unfairness is the first government in the history of the country to have established a Ministry for Women and Children's Affairs headed by a very powerful lady, Mrs Asmah. I'm sure the lady knows of her and the whole idea is to set the improvement of the women's position in society in trail. The government accepts the observation in good faith and will try as much as possible to improve upon the situation.
In our parliamentary democracy, the choice is strictly by the ballot box. If you are talking democracy, gender really doesn't come in. It's one-person one vote. I would urge our womenfolk to gather the courage to step out and offer themselves as candidates for elective office. If they stay back for only the men to seek office, at the end of the day we will find our parliament so lopsided in favour of men. Anybody who blames the government, that person perhaps is not being fair. What perhaps could be suggested is that the law should be changed in such a way as to include what might be described as an affirmative action by which a number of seats in Parliament may be assigned to women so that at the end of the day we have the requisite number of ladies in the house. This is what I want to say but I want to assure my friend that the government will try and do its best.
Shaka: Mr President we are getting to the end of the programme. If you were to talk to us from the deepest part of the bottom of your heart and soul, what would you put your fingers on as being the single most important decision that you have made so far during your Presidency and last question, what about the single most regrettable decision?
President J. A. Kufuor: This is such a loaded question. Is it priority or importance?
Shaka: You have one minute, one minute to be used to answer the question Sir.
President J.A. Kufuor: I will say that, the important achievement so far is that this government has restored in the people and we feel it, that confidence to make them know that the real power of the state resides in them. Now freedom of speech in the Ghanaian is so rife all over the place and if you turn on the radios in the morning and you hear the contributors, you will know that that's where power is issuing from. I'm sure these people will not again ever allow themselves to be hijacked by coup makers or anything of the sort. This one, we've worked for and even though I am criticised heavily on, I say it's a welcome development.
I love that. As to what I regret most so far, I don't think there is anything I will say I have regretted doing. What I will say is that, I am learning, always concentrating on how our policies will help enhance the position of the people. In the process, sometimes you slip a bit but once we are ready to learn, I think we try to correct and this is how we want to do it, to lay the foundations for future governments.
Shaka: On that note, Mr President I'm afraid time is not our best ally. We thank you so much for appearing on our show, and we take this opportunity to thank Ghana Broadcasting Corporation and Ghana Television for making this show possible. On behalf of my production colleagues, and I, thanks so much, thanks so much for tuning into Straight Talk Africa and so long, so long from Washington.
Shaka: Any particular reason as to why you do not have a uniform mechanism for resolving some of those conflicts in the region. For example you were able to resolve, to reject if I might in fact use the word, the coup that took place in Sao Tome and Principe but at the same time, you were able to more or less concede to the coup in Guinea Bissau. Now there are people who are saying the reason you couldn't for example compromise on Sao Tome and Principe is probably because of the black gold there. Any truth in that?
President J. A. Kufuor: I think you've been misadvised. We averted the coup in Guinea Bissau too. I went there with President Obasanjo and President Wade of Senegal to meet with the Generals who had forced the previous President out of power or something like that. Fortunately, the Generals had not assumed office as the new Governors, so we went to tell them and to the Civil Society too that the sub-region would not recognise the coup de’tat nor would we recognise even a semblance of a coup de’tat and that if the former President to them was not performing, what they should do was for the military and the Civil Society to get together to get a civilian successor to the previous President so there wouldn't be even a semblance of a coup de’tat.
The Generals agreed with us and this is why Guinea Bissau has a new President who is a civilian. In fact, he visited me about two, three weeks ago. So it wasn't quite a coup. In fact, the Military allowed the former President to write a letter of resignation; that he was stepping down as President and it was on that basis the new President was invited to come and take over. It wasn't a coup de’tat and it was never the consideration of the black gold in Sao Tome that influenced us to try to prevent the coup there. It was not that.
Shaka: I see, What about Liberia, we get reports for example that Charles Taylor, the former President of Liberia who of course is at present in exile in Nigeria around Calabar that he continues some how to influence things on the ground in Monrovia. We have also heard that the current interim leader Gyude Bryant has actually called for his indictment. What is the position of ECOWAS on this?
President J. A. Kufuor: I remember President Obasanjo had cause about a month and a half or so ago to advise former President Taylor to be a good Sojourner in Nigeria, meaning if it was established that President Taylor was interfering in the administration of Liberia from where he is now in Nigeria, then Nigeria might withdraw the asylum granted to him. This should show that nobody within ECOWAS is condoning any meddling or subversion from President Taylor. The fact that President Obasanjo had the cause to repeat the warning or to take some action that might be interpreted as President Taylor having offended his stay with President Obasanjo should be taken that President Taylor is living within the limits of decency in Nigeria.
As to the fact that new President in Liberia or Chairman demanding that President Taylor should be prosecuted, that is a different thing altogether and I can't pretend I know enough to say whether Mr. Bryant is right or is wrong in his demand. I think as Head of State there now, perhaps he's got his rights and one shouldn't meddle in the way he exercises his rights there.
Shaka: In your current position as the chairman of ECOWAS, if you were to look Straight in Charles Taylor's eyes and talk to him where he is in Calabar where perhaps he is watching you, what would you say to him that he needs to do in order to make sure that peace and stability is restored back in his homeland.
President J. A. Kufuor: I would say to him that he did very well for his country by voluntarily stepping down for the current arrangement to take place and since it is a process, I would urge him to continue to stay out so the transitional government could perform to restore the nation back to democratic normalcy. He himself said if he was perceived to be the cause of the trouble and chaos in the country, then he was prepared to go and it was on that basis he eventually left. I don't think anybody can say that all these troubles are over yet.
In fact the transitional government has barely resumed functioning so President Taylor will be advised to stay out of the scene and allow the new government enough room to perform and to prepare the country for the election that all well wishers expect within two years within the country.
Shaka: Thank you very much. Lets go to, still in Ghana Asoboya, Asoboya from Ghana good evening. You are most welcome to “Straight Talk Africa.”
Asoboya: Hello!
Shaka: Could you please reduce the volume on your television monitor because we are getting an echo on the line.
Asoboya: Please I will first of all like to congratulate the President for the wonderful work he has been doing so far. Besides that, I still think there is room for him to improve especially up Northern Ghana, where I'm speaking from. Talking of the roads, he has concentrated so much on Accra leaving the northern sector where we have places like Bongo District which hasn't got any tarred road. So I think there is still room for him to do a lot of improvement. I will also like to congratulate him on the way he has been able to maintain peace and stability in the country. I think I'm done.
Shaka: Thank you very much. Lets go to Ama, is it Ama or Ann in Ghana? Good evening, you are most welcome to Straight Talk Africa.
Ann: Good evening, My name is Ann Mrs. Jondiando. I'm calling from Accra.
Shaka: Go ahead please.
Ann: Well everybody has congratulated him and I'm also joining them in congratulating him. But my issue is that, we would like to see more women appointed to certain sensitive positions. I believe that there are a few more women around who can also be elevated or encouraged to occupy certain positions. When you look at the population of Ghana, I think women account for about 51 per cent. They are slightly more than the men and when you have the men taking a lump, a big share of positions, executive positions, then the women will like to see a lot more of them, of their kind in certain sensitive positions. I would also like to say that the President has done well enough but when it comes to HIV/AIDS, I would want to entreat him, the way people love him and the way people respect him, anytime that he mounts a podium any where, regardless of whether it is related or not, he should allocate about five minutes or 10 minutes of his time to talk about HIV. Something small and once he does it all the time, it will go a long way because if we are saying he is succeeding in everything and HIV is just consuming and killing the people, then the people that he is working for will be dying. I would entreat him to do that for us. He and the First Lady as well. Thank you very much for giving me the time.
Shaka: Thank you very much. What about that Mr President?
President J. A. Kufuor: Yes I will take the three points raised. One on the roads in the north. I want to thank Aliu for the nice tribute, he paid and I would say that I accept his criticism in good faith. The north in a way is lagging behind but we would also admit that the north has not been abandoned all together. The point is, making a road takes quite a long time and we were taking pains to ensure that all the 10 regions of Ghana get their fair share of development. This is happening.
Some roads are being made even in the north as I speak but this particular road he mentioned truly has not seen even an inch of bitumen. Government will try and get there but I'm sure he would admit three years is just about the beginning and hopefully in due cause, not too long a time, we will get there so I would ask him for his continuous support and goodwill and faith that this government will not disappoint the north. That's what I want to say on the roads and this goes for all the other parts of the country where government hasn't managed to get there yet to lay the infrastructure. With regard to the women in positions, again, I want to thank the contributor for the kind appreciation. I would say that truly if you take the statistical breakdown of men and women, women are in majority in the country. If you take it so categorically, then you will be right in saying that women are not fairly represented. Unfortunately, we are coming away from a history in which the women somehow were always left behind and this government appreciating this in-built unfairness is the first government in the history of the country to have established a Ministry for Women and Children's Affairs headed by a very powerful lady, Mrs Asmah. I'm sure the lady knows of her and the whole idea is to set the improvement of the women's position in society in trail. The government accepts the observation in good faith and will try as much as possible to improve upon the situation.
In our parliamentary democracy, the choice is strictly by the ballot box. If you are talking democracy, gender really doesn't come in. It's one-person one vote. I would urge our womenfolk to gather the courage to step out and offer themselves as candidates for elective office. If they stay back for only the men to seek office, at the end of the day we will find our parliament so lopsided in favour of men. Anybody who blames the government, that person perhaps is not being fair. What perhaps could be suggested is that the law should be changed in such a way as to include what might be described as an affirmative action by which a number of seats in Parliament may be assigned to women so that at the end of the day we have the requisite number of ladies in the house. This is what I want to say but I want to assure my friend that the government will try and do its best.
Shaka: Mr President we are getting to the end of the programme. If you were to talk to us from the deepest part of the bottom of your heart and soul, what would you put your fingers on as being the single most important decision that you have made so far during your Presidency and last question, what about the single most regrettable decision?
President J. A. Kufuor: This is such a loaded question. Is it priority or importance?
Shaka: You have one minute, one minute to be used to answer the question Sir.
President J.A. Kufuor: I will say that, the important achievement so far is that this government has restored in the people and we feel it, that confidence to make them know that the real power of the state resides in them. Now freedom of speech in the Ghanaian is so rife all over the place and if you turn on the radios in the morning and you hear the contributors, you will know that that's where power is issuing from. I'm sure these people will not again ever allow themselves to be hijacked by coup makers or anything of the sort. This one, we've worked for and even though I am criticised heavily on, I say it's a welcome development.
I love that. As to what I regret most so far, I don't think there is anything I will say I have regretted doing. What I will say is that, I am learning, always concentrating on how our policies will help enhance the position of the people. In the process, sometimes you slip a bit but once we are ready to learn, I think we try to correct and this is how we want to do it, to lay the foundations for future governments.
Shaka: On that note, Mr President I'm afraid time is not our best ally. We thank you so much for appearing on our show, and we take this opportunity to thank Ghana Broadcasting Corporation and Ghana Television for making this show possible. On behalf of my production colleagues, and I, thanks so much, thanks so much for tuning into Straight Talk Africa and so long, so long from Washington.
