Now, with Akufo-Addo in charge, the declared government policy 60 years later is: “Ghana Beyond Aid”. But just in this case, there are no optimistic signs. [EPA/LEGNAN KOULA]After the AU-EU summit in Abidjan, French President Emmanuel Macron visited several African states, including Ghana. Raw materials then no longer will be exported, but processed in Ghana’s own factories. We are more confident than ever in our role bridging media, policy, and the public. EURACTIV France reports.Without additional development cooperation funds from Europe, the Ghanaian government has thus far not been able to secure projects in the social and labour market sectors alone.The words of the Ghanaian president now addressed to Macron are therefore more likely to be understood as a call to African heads of state than to international donors.Reforms called for by Akufo-Addo need a strong domestic African market if the country wants to become independent from European aid. One user describing it as “probably the most powerful message in recent times coming from an African leader.”Macron has defended the CFA, but only to the extent of pointing out that separate currencies would still need their own forex backing.For many Ghanaians, this will not be the first time they have heard their president’s pet peeve as he has been consistent about his catchphrase “We can no longer continue to make policy for ourselves in our continent on the basis of whatever support that the western world can give us.”
Macron au Ghana : réponse du président Akufo-Addo - YouTube
This is an important step towards pan-African standards of cooperation.Akufo-Addo must now prove in the remaining one and a half years of his term whether the words he addressed to his French counterpart will be followed by concrete actions. Ghanaian President Shocks French President With Brave Speech Efficacité et Transparence des Acteurs Européens Efficacité et Transparence des Acteurs Européens Your financial support helps build the future of our network of newsrooms across Europe.Get the latest news from Europe's capitals for free each morningBy continuing to browse the website, you are agreeing to our Now more than ever we need unbiased, expert information on how and why the European Union functions.
However, few African leaders, regardless of their personal beliefs, ever publicly question the idea that international support is needed for development or, in the worst cases, day to day running of their countries.This is probably why young Africans on social media have been heaping praise on Ghana’s president Nana Akufo-Addo for his response to a question at a joint press conference in Accra with the visiting French president Emmanuel Macron.The question by a local journalist was about whether France was going to strengthen its “support” for other African countries aside its former colonies “We can no longer continue to make policy for ourselves, in our country, in our region, in our continent on the basis of whatever support that the western world or France, or the European Union can give us. On the sidelines of the Global Business Forum Africa in Dubai on 1 November, Rwandan President Paul Kagame pledged his support.Ghana can draw on the positive experiences of Rwanda, especially when it comes to the implementation of a GPS-based National Digital Property Addressing System, the introduction of an identity card, a paperless port system and the electronic registration of companies. There are now more calls for investment and trade rather than aid. Local producers are now coming up with new ideas to cut pollution while keeping their business profitable.To this, the Ghanaian government wants to create jobs, use political means to boost the economy and make agriculture more productive.