http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9024951c-6d79-11de-8b19-00144feabdc0.htmlGhana has been swept by a surge of national pride in the run-up to Barack Obama’s first state visit to Africa, which began last night with his arrival in the west African country.
The visit is intended to emphasise US support for democracy and good governance on the continent. As a result, Ghanaians remark with a certain glee that they have taken precedence over other larger states with more strategic importance to the US, such as Nigeria and Kenya. Those are countries where there have been setbacks in the fight against corruption and promotion of political reform.
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Election boosts Ghana’s success story - Jan-06.Mills wins Ghanaian presidential poll - Jan-03.Ghana to hold presidential run-off - Dec-11.Ghana puts faith in humble text message - Dec-08.Ghana votes for new president - Dec-07.IT helps spread African democracy - Dec-08..Ghana is a relatively safe choice for Mr Obama’s first big policy speech on Africa. Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush visited the country while in office, the former attracting vast crowds during a rally in central Accra.
But the trip – and Saturday’s speech – has special resonance because of Mr Obama’s popularity across the continent as a son of the soil, and because his personal story is emblematic to many Africans of what can be achieved.
“When a white man like the French president comes to tell you to put your house in order it is seen as an offence. When a black brother comes it is good advice,” Ablade Glover, the Ghanaian painter, said.
Ghana is not a significant trading partner with the US but its record in democratic reforms stands out amid a recent spate of flawed elections and a resurgence of military takeovers on the continent.
In contrast with polls in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya and Zimbabwe, among others, Ghana’s in December were relatively free and fair, thanks partly to the strength and independence of the electoral commission, which has overseen two peaceful transfers of power in the past decade. The ruling New Patriotic party accepted the verdict despite the tiny margin of its defeat.
The visit comes at a critical juncture for Ghana. The country’s government is hoping to avoid the pitfalls that other African oil producers have fallen into when they begin pumping oil from their newly discovered offshore fields for the first time next year. “Ghana has now undergone a couple of successful elections in which power was transferred peacefully, even a very close election,” Mr Obama told the website allAfrica.com in an interview this week.
Praising President Atta Mills for his commitment to the rule of law, Mr Obama added: “There is a direct correlation between governance and prosperity. Countries that are governed well, that are stable, where the leadership recognises that they are accountable to the people and that institutions are stronger than any one person, have a track record of producing results for the people. And we want to highlight that.”
Other administration officials say that the US is also seeking to step up co-operation with Ghana to combat an explosion in drugs trafficking in west Africa.
But in many ways Mr Obama has emphasised his interest in Africa less than did Mr Bush, who prided himself on a massive increase in aid to the continent. By contrast, the current president’s straitened budgetary circumstances has left him with much less scope for a similar increase in funds and aid groups say he is already coming under pressure to cut back development spending.
To date, much of the Obama administration’s day-to-day work on Africa has focused on the crises with which it continues to wrestle, such as north-south tensions in Sudan, the crisis in Darfur, Zimbabwe’s uneasy power-sharing government and the onslaught of militant Islamists in Somalia. That has done little to damp the excitement in Accra.
“Ghanaians have extrem-ely high expectations for this visit. A lot of it is sentimental and personal,” Cadman Atta Mills, the president’s brother and chairman of the National Economic Advisory board, told the Financial Times.
He said if Washington was ambitious it would use the occasion to launch a Marshall plan for African infrastructure. But if Mr Obama were able to redefine US strategy and place more emphasis on “helping Africans help themselves”, with technical assistance for agriculture and support in improving the terms on which the continent trades, it would be welcome.
Mr Obama helped drive the agenda on agricultural development at this week’s G8 summit in L’Aquila, where on Friday a $20bn fund for food security in poor countries was pledged.
He has also emphasised his belief that ultimately only Africans can solve their own problems.
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