Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ms. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has said that the Ghanaian government is support of the establishment of a transitional government headed by a civilian to oversee the return of the country to constitutional rule.
The Minister, who represented President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at a virtual ECOWAS Summit on the Malian crisis on Thursday, said that Ghana condemned the military mutiny that toppled the civilian government in Mali on August 18, 2020 and that its position was in line with position earlier taken by ECOWAS Commission, the African Union and the United Nations on the coup d’etat..
Local media reports on Friday said that Ms. Botchwey told the summit that the events in Mali were taking place at a time when the country was experiencing socio-economic and political difficulties, complicated by security threats posed by jihadists and extremists which had been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
She added that the security situation in Mali posed a grave danger to regional security if not urgently and effectively managed.
“The situation has the potential to escalate jihadist activities in the country and the Sahel region in general. It also has the potential to destabilise the region and further undermine development within Mali,” she said.
Meamwhile, Colonel Assimi Goita has emerged as the new military leader of Mali, a development Ghana believed would not advance democracy in the region.
Mali has been suspended from the sub-regional bloc, ECOWAS and more sanctions imposed by ECOWAS are taking effect on Mali.
GIK/APA