GRi in Parliament 31 - 05 - 2002
Minority sounded the doom bell on NEPAD
Ghanaian and Ivorian Parliaments to work
together
Accra (Greater Accra) 31 May 2002- Minority on Thursday sounded the doom bell for the New Partnership of Africa's Development (NEPAD), saying the concept would fail as the previous laudable ones eluded Africans because they did not own them and the industrialised world manipulated them to their advantage.
Speakers from the Minority were contributing to a statement by Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, Minister of Foreign Affairs made in Parliament on Thursday. Mr Steve Akorli, Ho-East said the G8 countries knew the initiative more than the Africans, who the concept was supposed to benefit and that those countries were propagating the merit of the concept more than the Africans.
"They were behaving like a sympathiser crying more than the bereaved because it is surprising that Parliament has not even seen the document which the foreigners have being talking about for almost a year now." Mr John Mahama, NDC Bole, said predicated on partnership and experience has shown that the concept had never been in favour of Africa since the continent is primary producer and consumers of imported manufactured goods.
He said "NEPAD should not be used to raise the people's expectations too high because it does not address Africans under-development and unless those factors fundamental to the development of the continent remained unanswered it will be difficult to sustain its development."
Mr Mahama said it was paradoxical that President Bush has given 180 billion dollars subsidy to American farmers making the rice cheaper on the Ghanaian market than the locally produced one. "And yet the World Bank gives us conditionalities restraining us from giving us subsidy to Ghanaian farmers."
Mr James Victor Gbeho, Ind-Anlo and a distinguished diplomat, said the partnership aspect of NEPAD was worrying since "our partners from the developed world, especially Europe and North America have failed consistently to take up their side of the bargain. "This is a new partnership agreement but other partnerships have existed and have gone to grief. So we must ensure that the partnership that we accept now is a real one.
He said what was bringing the fear was that in the past kit was noticed that the developed partners always backed away when it came to the crunch of them having to provide resources for development in Africa and other part of the developing countries, "then they come up with new initiatives".
"The recent example was when we started winning the moral argument about the cancellation of debt, forgiveness of debt and after the meeting of Global
2000, they suddenly came up with this new idea of HIPC". He said HIPC meant that they were now putting all their money in a fund to be controlled by the World Bank "and unless you to go the World Bank, HIPC will not benefit you."
GRi…/
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Ghanaian and Ivorian Parliaments to work
together
Accra (Greater Accra) 31 May 2002- The legislatures of Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire on Wednesday agreed to work together to ensure the early ratification of various protocols and agreements concluded at African Union and ECOWAS summits as well as multilateral treaties the two countries have adopted.
They said an Inter-Parliamentary Committee should be established between the two countries to meet at least once a year to follow up and evaluate the process towards the final integration of the sub-region. These were contained in a communiqué the Parliamentary Select Committees on Foreign Affairs of the two countries issued in Accra after a three-day meeting.
Mr Kwabena Okerchiri, Chairman the Committee signed for Ghana while Mr Banzio Dagobert, Deputy Speaker of National Assembly of Cote d'Ivoire who led a seven-member delegation signed for his country. The communiqué said to ensure harmonious relations between the two countries they must encourage periodic consultation between the two governments and to promote more interaction between their parliamentarians on sustained basis.
To accelerate the integration process in the sub-region, "constant exchange of visits between the law enforcement agencies of both countries and exchange programmes among the youth, students and other civil society groups" must be supported and promoted.
The communiqué said the governments of the two countries must "encourage traditional leaders of both countries to attend each other's festivals and to also plan and celebrate joint festivals to further cement the bond of friendship between them". It called on the two countries to "dedicate themselves to fighting against social problems that affect both sides, particularly in areas of women and children rights".
GRi…/
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