The report that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has expressed concerns about Russian mercenaries’ activities on Ghana’s northern border with Burkina Faso is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Friday.
The Graphic reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has expressed concerns about Russian mercenaries’ activities on Ghana’s northern border with Burkina Faso.
President-Akufo-Addo, who is in Washington for the US-Africa Leaders Summit, raised the concerns at a meeting on Wednesday (December 14, 2022) with United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. This was contained in a statement released by the U.S. Department of State.
According to the President, Burkina Faso (Ghana’s neighbour to the north) had given Russian mercenaries working for the Wagner Group a mine as payment for their services.
“And I think that beyond everything, there is a matter that I want to urge upon you. Today, Russian mercenaries are on our northern border,” President Akufo-Addo said.
“Burkina Faso has now entered into an arrangement to go along with Mali in employing the Wagner forces there. I believe a mine in southern Burkina has been allocated to them as a form of payment for their services. Prime minister of Burkina Faso in the last 10 days has been in Moscow. And to have them operating on our northern border is particularly distressing for us in Ghana”.
The President said he was particularly concerned about the activities of the Russian mercenaries because of Ghana’s very vocal condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
He added: “Apart from not accepting the idea of great powers once again making Africa their theatre of operation, we have a particular position that you know about over the Ukraine war, where we have been very, very vocal and upfront about condemning the invasion of Russia – by Russia. And therefore, there now to have this group in our borders is a matter of some considerable disquiet and concern for us. We’d really like to have a privileged opportunity to talk about its implications and what we believe ought to be the case”.
President Akufo-Addo further urged the US to partner with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to protect countries in the region from armed groups that threatened democracy.
He said ECOWAS had been very consistent in refusing to deal with coup makers because of the undemocratic nature of their accession to power.
“This is what took place with the discussion in the Congress yesterday, which I found very fruitful. And I would like to – the themes of that discussion should be the themes that we should continue to address: to what extent we can have you as a partner in confronting these threats,” he said.
The newspaper says that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged the Africans in the diaspora to help make their countries of origin and the continent places of opportunities.
The President said they should portray the positive sides of the continent to make it attractive for both diasporans and the global investment community as a place of possibilities.
Addressing the Young African and Diasporan Leaders’ Summit on the sidelines of the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington D.C. USA last Tuesday, President Akufo-Addo noted that it was high time the African diaspora helped change the African narrative, which had been characterised largely by a concentration on disease, hunger, poverty and illegal mass migration.
The Vice-President of the United States, Kamala Harris, also addressed the Young African and Diasporan Leaders’ Summit.
The US-Africa Leaders’ Summit, which has attracted dozens of African leaders, is at the instance of the US President, Joe Biden, and is aimed at boosting cooperation with African nations.
The three-day summit will focus on key challenges, including the climate crisis, good governance, food security and global health, as well as bolstering US-Africa trade and investment opportunities centred around the non-reciprocal trade policy, the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
Addressing the Young African and Diasporan Leaders’ Summit, President Akufo-Addo indicated that history was replete with several examples of the positive impact of diasporan communities on the growth and development of countries through increased trade activities, rising investments,and the transfer of skills and knowledge.
Citing the Chinese example which has an émigré population of 60 million, he said the Chinese diaspora is said to be the 25th largest country in the world, who according to the Nikkei Asian Review, owned assets worth $2.5 trillion.
The Graphic also reports that riding on a successful implementation of the Integrated Customs Management Systems (ICUMS) in the country, Ghana Link Network Services Limited (GLNSL) has entered into a fresh partnership deal with Customs UNI-PASS International Agency (CUPIA).
The partnership deal is to enable the two institutions to penetrate other African countries such as The Gambia to streamline their ports systems and enhance revenue generation.
Towards that, the Chairman of the Ghana Link Network Services, Nick Danso Adjei, signed on behalf of the GLNSL while the Chairman of the CUPIA, Yoon-shik Kim, appended his signature for his firm.
The signing was part of Mr Kim’s two-day working visit to Ghana to engage officials of the GRA, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and Ghana Link Network Services to further deepen collaboration.
At a ceremony to sign the MoU in Accra on December 6, the Director in-charge of Operations at the GLNSL, Raymond Amaglo, said the partnership was to ensure smooth business operations as the two parties prepare to deploy the technology in The Gambia.
He said the successes chalked at improving efficiency at Ghana’s ports earned Ghana Link and its partner CUPIA the trust of The Gambian officials to select them to replicate the same infrastructure in that country.
“With the introduction of ICUMS, currently, the clearance of goods at the port has seen a rapid improvement when it comes to time.
“If you take advantage of our pre-manifest declaration clearance option, it enables you to make an application to Customs with your invoice, bill of lading and parking list way ahead of the arrival of the vessel. This has helped to clear cargo within a day.
“Secondly, there are a lot of cost savings, especially with the challenge of the exchange rate. For example, if your vessel will arrive in two months’ time and you are able to make payments today, you make cost savings on the exchange rate at the time of arrival.
GIK/APA