President John Dramani Mahama on Friday hosted United States Billionaire Alex Soros for talks at the Presidency in Accra.
Mr Soros, an investor and philanthropist and the son of billionaire Mr George Soros, also chairs the Board of Directors of the Open Society Foundations and sits on the investment committee for Soros Fund Management. He is in Accra for a series of engagements.
At the meeting, President Mahama reiterated Ghana’s commitment to upholding the values of democracy, respect for human rights and the freedoms of its citizenry.
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He said Ghana was the beacon of democracy in Africa, which had witnessed peaceful transitions of power and stable political environment.
The President said Ghana under the Fourth Republican Constitution had had 33 years of a stable democracy.
“We’ve had nine elections; all of which have been successful. And we have had several changes of government from one party to another. And these have all been successful,” he said.
“So currently, Ghana stands as a beacon of peace and democracy, not only in West Africa, but in the whole of Africa.”
President Mahama said Ghana was a respected voice when it comes to democracy and good governance.
President said his administration was implementing the reset agenda, which covers not only issues to do with the economy, but also with governance.
He said a lot of things had gone out of kilter with the nation’s governance under the previous Government, stating that the nation’s democratic institutions were weakened.
He said there is a lot of corruption and lack of accountability under the previous Government.
“And so, we came up with a programme to strengthen the anti-corruption institutions. And we had a project called Operation Recover All the Loot (ORAL).
He explained that ORAL was meant to recover all the loot that had been taken away from the Ghanaian people.
“And so, you might hear of prosecutions and things of people who actually have mismanaged public resources. And we continue to pursue accountability; even with people who work in our government, we believe that accountability should not be post-regime accountability. It must be current,” the President said.
“And so even as you’re prosecuting people who did things in the past, you must have the courage to prosecute people if they do the same things in your administration.”
On ECOWAS and the three Sahelian countries – Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, which have left the regional bloc, the President reiterated the efforts he had made since his assumption of office to ensure their return to ECOWAS.
He said he had visited all three countries and tried to establish a channel of communication and continuous dialogue with them.
On his part, Mr Alex Soros congratulated President Mahama on his re-election victory.
He said, he was in Ghana as part of the activities marking the 50th anniversary of ECOWAS.
He said the Open Society Foundations in Africa had very much championed the cause of ECOWAS integration, and that obviously, there had been some great triumphs on visa-free travel.
He said he also wanted to discuss partnering and helping with that integration.
At the meeting were Dr Dominic Akurutinga Ayine, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice; Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, Finance Minister; and Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The rest are Mr John Abdulai Jinapor, Minister of Energy and Green Transition; Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources and Mr Charles Abugre, incoming Board Chairperson of the Millennium Development Authority.
GNA
