Richard Joseph
8 July 2009
guest column
Guest columnist Richard Joseph, an Africa expert at the Brookings Institution and Northwestern University in the United States, has been travelling to Ghana for 30 years. Beginning 20 years ago, while working with former President Jimmy Carter, he followed closely Ghana's return to multiparty politics. On Saturday he will be in Accra for the visit of President Barack Obama, an event he describes as a "sublime and potentially transformative moment for Africa." He previews the visit for AllAfrica.
There is perhaps no region in the world in which there is a greater gap between the high expectations of an Obama presidency and knowledge of his administration's intended policies than in sub-Saharan Africa. That gap should narrow when President Obama makes a fleeting visit to Ghana on July 10 and 11.
Unlike Kenya and Nigeria – the countries he might have been expected to visit first in his presidency, but whose reputations are clouded by corruption, electoral misconduct, insecurity and other woes – Ghana is now regarded as a "beacon of democracy" after two decades of political progress and renewed economic growth.
The country has witnessed five successive elections since its return to multiparty democracy in 1992. In 2006 the United States rewarded Ghana for its progress with a $547 million Millennium Challenge Account grant for capacity building -- an initiative of the administration of President George W. Bush.
Ilaria DiBiagio/Oxfam-UCODEP
Protesters calling for aid for the world's hungry staged a stunt at the G8 Summit with effigies of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev eating spaghetti.
The December 2008 national elections were hotly contested and ended in a confusion of lawsuits, the boycott of a run-off vote in one constituency and accusations of fraud and other irregularities. But when the defeated presidential candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo of the governing New Patriotic Party, conceded to John Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress after losing by a sliver (0.46 percent) of the popular vote, Ghana was spared the trauma of the post-election upheavals we have seen in recent years in Kenya, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
On the economic front, revenues will soon begin flowing from the export of petroleum, a result of the discovery of oil off Ghana's west coast several years ago.
Nevertheless, the country faces substantial challenges. In last December's election, the virulence of party campaigns, deepening ethnic-bloc voting and the mobilization of vigilantes showed that Ghana has not yet crossed the frontier to intimidation-free electoral politics.
In government, a bloated executive dominates and marginalizes parliament and the judiciary, and financial self-dealing among governing elites is again rampant. The prospect of oil revenue highlights the urgent need for improved and transparent systems of economic management.
Forty percent of Ghanaians still live in poverty and thousands leave annually to seek a better life elsewhere. Pervasive unemployment among youths, as throughout Africa, is one of the tragic consequences of high fertility rates and low economic productivity.
Yet Ghana could lead a new wave of accelerated and sustainable development in agriculture, industry and services.
In August 2006, while visiting Nairobi as a U.S. Senator, Barack Obama highlighted the failure of Kenya, and other countries in Africa, "to create a government that is transparent and accountable, one that serves its people and is free from corruption."
On his first visit to Africa during his presidency – to Cairo last month – President Obama challenged government leaders to "place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process above your party." His summons applies acutely to Ghana.
There are buds of an Obama doctrine, seen in both the Nairobi and Cairo addresses, which can sprout in Africa. It emphasizes tolerance, transparency, the rule of law, government that rests on consent rather than coercion and "doesn't steal from the people." It urges political leaders to respect democratic rights and institutions while they are "in power" as they did "out of power." In his recent July 3 interview with AllAfrica, he reiterated his understanding of "the direct correlation between governance and prosperity" and the need to stop making "excuses about corruption or poor governance on Africa".
During his campaign for the presidency, Obama promised to double foreign aid once elected into office. But much more important for Africa is the need to spur enterprise-led growth and support the new generation of entrepreneurs and professionals who are fed up with aid-fuelled and corruption-plagued politics.
There are important initiatives of his predecessors that the Obama administration can build upon. President Bill Clinton's most important contribution to Africa was the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) that lowered barriers to African export products to the United States. While the Bush administration extended the scope of AGOA, a real breakthrough for Africa on trade issues crumbled with the collapse of the Doha Round of talks on a comprehensive deal on trade.
The establishment of the Millennium Challenge Account was one of the notable achievements of the Bush administration and one which President Obama can expand and extend to sub-national entities. Such an action is relevant to countries such as Nigeria with dynamic governments emerging at the state level.
The scope for the U.S. government and American companies to pursue agricultural, infrastructural, and other investment opportunities in Africa is vast. Sub-Saharan Africa now provides almost 20 percent of U.S. oil imports while its gas imports have jumped nearly ten-fold since 2000.
On Saturday, President Obama and his entourage will visit the Cape Coast Castle from which many Africans were dispatched to chattel slavery in the Americas. He will then address the Ghanaian Parliament and a great multitude in the capital city of Accra. To the thousands who will gather to hear him, 750 million sub-Saharan Africans will follow his remarks closely, thanks to independent media and telecommunication services that now flourish in the continent.
His anticipated message of hope, audacity, responsibility and "pragmatic progressivism" will reverberate long after he leaves. It will be a sublime and potentially transformative moment for Africa and those who have who have long argued for the United States to stand up boldly for democracy and developmental governance in the continent.
Richard Joseph is nonresident senior fellow in the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution and John Evans Professor of International History and Politics of Northwestern University. He directed The Carter Center's election mission in Ghana in 1992 and has worked closely with Ghanaian researchers and civil society activists.
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What Ghana (and all Africa) need is to stop embracing collectivism. Obama is not the answer for Africa and only they themselves can bring change and stability to their countries and continent. Obama is a collectivist and that philosophy has failed everywhere it's been tried. Democracy, as a form of government, is as tyrannical as any fascist state. If you want true freedoms for INDIVIDUALS ensure that: 1) government is very limited in it's power 2) that each person has gifts and worth and NO ONE has the right to take from him or her what they've earned with those gifts and worth 3) If you take anything from the United States, take the American Constitution. Study it. It's not perfect, but it outlines the best form of govenrment that's been tried yet. It's a start.
ghana may be better than other countries near it, but corruption is still there. My son died in Accra on January 1st, 2008. he was one of the two US Navy sailors who were murdered. The GNP blocked than botched the investigation. john Kufour fired the head of national security himself. Is that how a civilized country runs? As for Barack Obama, he too is corrupt putting lots of tax cheats in office to work for him. He is above the law.
AMERICA IS THE WHORE OF BABYLON : Revelations 17 & 18 AND Jeremiah 50 & 51
HERE ARE SOME KEY POINTS :
Jeremiah, chapter 50 : 8 - 9
8: Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he goats before the flocks. 9: For, behold, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon AN ASSEMBLY OF GREAT NATIONS FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from there she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain. . [ Their will be an exodus of nations leaving America ; returning to their ancestral homes e.g. Black Africans to nations like Ghana, Sierra Leone, etc…] [ .Get out of New Babylon America !!! ]
[ 1 ] Jeremiah, chapter 50 : 16 16: Cut off the sower from Babylon ;and him that handles the sickle in the time of harvest .For fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.
[ 2 ] Jeremiah, chapter 51 : 6
6: Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul. Be not cut off in her iniquity. For this is the time of the LORD's vengeance; he will render to her a recompence.
[ 3 ] Jeremiah, chapter 51 : 9 9: We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed. Forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country. For her judgment reaches to heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.
Jeremiah, chapter 50 : 35 - 37
35: A sword is upon the Chaldeans, the inhabitants of Babylon, her princes, and her wise men; says the LORD. 36: A sword is upon the liars; and they shall dote. A sword is upon her mighty men; and they shall be dismayed. 37: A sword is upon their horses, chariots, and upon ALL THE MINGLED PEOPLE that are in the midst of her; they shall become as women. A sword is upon her treasures; and they shall be robbed.
ALL THE MINGLED PEOPLE – What Nation Has More Different Cultures Than America ?
Jeremiah, chapter 51 : 7 7: Babylon has been a golden cup in the LORD's hand; that made all the earth drunken. The nations have drunk of her wine. Therefore the nations are insane.
10: The LORD has brought forth our righteousness. Come, and let us declare in Zion (our souls) the work of the LORD our God. [ Zion = The Kingdom of Heaven which is within us..within our souls ]
[ This same spirit of the Medes ( Arabs)…is against New Babylon (Anerica) ]
[ 1 ] Jeremiah, chapter 51 : 11 11: Make bright the arrows; gather the shields. The LORD has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his temple.
[ 2 ] Jeremiah, chapter 51 : 27 - 28
27: Set you up a standard in the land. Blow the trumpet among the nations. Prepare the nations against her. Call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz. Appoint a captain against her. Cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------- These three(3) kingdoms today are : a) Ararat - (Armenia / Turkey) b) Ashchenaz – ( ? ) c) Minni – Armenia These kingdoms are (Arabic ) Medes --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------- 28: Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains, all the rulers of it, and all the land of his dominion.
[ The people will stop immigrating to America; once the word gets out of her impending doom ]
[ 1 ] Jeremiah, chapter 51 : 44 -45
44: And I will punish Bel in Babylon. I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he has swallowed up. And the nations shall not flow together any more to him. Yes, the wall of Babylon shall fall. 45: My people, go you out of the midst of her, and deliver you every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD.
[ a) For Two(2) years shall the people [ still here ( in America) ] hear rumors b) Civil Wars will break out before the final day of America’s destruction
[ 1 ] Jeremiah, chapter 51 : 46
46: And lest your heart faint, and you fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land. A rumour shall both come one year. And after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land; ruler against ruler. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------
REVELATIONS 17 & 18 : Also witnesses to Babylon’s destruction
OBAMA DECEPTIONS
Matthew 24:4 “ Take Precautions Against Being Tricked By Anyone ” – [Paraphrased] * Unless They’re Likeable ?
#1
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrpRocaEfQE]
[ http://www.infowars.com/obama-feigns-ignorance-of-cfr-nau/ ]
[http://www.infowars.com/michelle-obama-flashes-%E2%80%98el-diablo%E2%80%99 -hand-signal-on-cover-of-vogue/ ]
#2 Here is evidence of Point 2 of the Georgia Guidestones on Reproduction .
Don't be deceived :
[http://www.infowars.com/?p=7259]
Here are search result links to what the Georgia Guidestones are
[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Guidestones ]
#3
BY PEACE SHALL Many Be deceived (Daniel 8:25) .
DOES THE TERM PEACEKEEPERS ring a Bell ?
Ask the people in Rwanda (who survived that Peace-keeping) about the
United Nations PEACEKEEPERS .
President Obama’s UNITED NATIONS AMBASSADOR SUSAN RICE cut her teeth on
the RWANDA MASSACRE…. OOOPs!!! She said.
(Here’s a Search Link To Many Witnesses To THE NEW U.N. RICE MONSTER)
[http://ixquick.com/do/metasearch.pl?query=Susan+Rice+Rwanda&cat=web&pl=ff& language=english]
FAMILIES LINE UP FOR MASONIC CHILD ID PROGRAM ! UNCLE BEAST WANTS YOU !!!
[http://www.infowars.com/families-line-up-for-masonic-child-id-program/ ]
FRITZ SPRINGMEIER A Bold Christian Truthseeker The Top 13 Illuminati Bloodlines [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k73Q2_f4vKU ]
OUR DEEPEST FEAR By Marianne Williamson
Our Deepest Fear Is Not That We Are Inadequate, Our Deepest Fear Is That We Are Powerful Beyond Measure. It Is Our Light , Not Our Darkness That Most Frightens Us.
We Ask Ourselves, Who Am I To Be Brilliant, Gorgeous, Talented, And Fabulous ?
Actually Who Are We Not To Be ? You Are A Child Of God.
Your Playing Small Doesn’t Serve The World.
There Is Nothing Enlightened About Shrinking So That Other People Won’t Feel Insecure Around You.
We Are All Meant To Shine, As Children Do.
We Were Born To Make Manifest The Glory Of God That Is Within Us.
It’s Not Just In Some Of Us; It’s In Everyone.
And When We Let Our Own Light Shine We Unconsciously Give Other People Permission To Do The Same.
And As We Are Liberated From Our Own Fear, Our Presence Automatically Liberates Others
[NOTE – BEING AFRAID AND REFUSING TO GET INVOLVED WON’T STOP US FROM DYING. BUT BEING AFRAID CAN PREVENT US FROM LIVING]
(Nkosi Sikeleli Africa )
God bless Africa May her glory be lifted high Hear our petitions .
God bless us, Your children God we ask You to protect our nation Intervene and end all conflicts Protect us, protect our nation, our nation.
From the blue of our heaven, From the depths of our sea, Over our eternal mountain ranges, Where the cliffs give answer.
Sounds the call to come together, And united we shall stand, Let us live and strive for freedom, In South Africa our land.
[Enoch Mankayi Sontonga]
WAKE UP ! STAY UP MY BROTHERS & SISTERS ! BE SELF-SUFFICIENT IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
[http://www.infowars.com/infowars.asx] / [gcnlive.com] / [http://alexjonesringtones.net/]
- Life Is a Game. Have Fun. [ Luke 18:17 / Isaiah 11:6 ]
MATTHEW 10:26 DON’T BE AFRAID OF THEM, FOR THERE IS NOTHING COVERED THAT WON’T BE REVEALED AND THERE IS NOTHING HIDDEN THAT WON’T BE KNOWN.
Remember the 120 ! in the Upperroom, Gideon’s 300, One(1) believer can chase 1,000 demons & Two (2) can make 10,000 run .
How many will 1 million chase ?
Here’s An abbreviated Spirit Bomb prayer that I’d like for us to say to God The Creator Of All :
OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN , HOLY IS YOUR NAME, YOUR KINGDOM COME , YOUR WILL BE DONE, IN EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN .
- In Jesus Name We Pray – Amen
Pray twice per day once around sunset & once around sunrise .
Have prayer lists which include Family, Chritians, Truthseekers ,& Worthy Causes , etc…
SOME OF OUR LEADERS OR UNDER DEMONIC INFLUENCE , SOME OF OUR
WORLD IS UNDER THE SAME,. OUR UNITED , CONSISTENT, CONTINUOUS
PRAYERS WILL HELP US TO SEE THROUGH JESUS’ EYES. REMEMBER , HE’S
THE HEAD, WE HAVE NO EYES, EARS, NOSE, MOUTH, ETC..WITHOUT THE
HEAD. THAT IS WHY WE WALK BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT, SOUND, TASTE
OR ANY OTHER NATURAL DISTRACTION. WE ARE SPIRITUAL WARRIORS !!!
Make a Habit Of Praying Twice a Day (Sunset / Sunrise). Have A Daily Prayer, Weekly
Prayer , Monthly Prayer, even Yearly Prayer ; keeping persons, organizations and causes
in mind that you’d like to pray for at these intervals of time ( Daily-Weekly-Monthly-
Yearly).
Some prayer list suggestions –
(DAILY PRAYER LIST ) -
Christian & Natural Family -
TOP-PRIORITY Persons, Causes & Oragnizations
(WEEKLY PRAYER LIST ) -
MID-LEVEL Persons, Causes & Oragnizations
(MONTHLY PRAYER LIST ) -
- Persons, Causes & Oragnizations ( For Example – Heads Of Countries)
(YEARLY PRAYER LIST ) -
LOWER LEVEL - Persons, Causes & Oragnizations
[God Bless You Readers To Want To Know And Seek To Know The Truth] - MAY GOD BE A HAVEN OF PEACE IN OUR TIME OF TROUBLE --
[This inspiring poem was featuring in the movie “Coach Carter ”]
Our Deepest Fear Is Not That We Are Inadequate, Our Deepest Fear Is That We Are Powerful Beyond Measure. It Is Our Light , Not Our Darkness That Most Frightens Us.
We Ask Ourselves, Who Am I To Be Brilliant, Gorgeous, Talented, And Fabulous ?
Actually Who Are We Not To Be ? You Are A Child Of God.
Your Playing Small Doesn’t Serve The World.
There Is Nothing Enlightened About Shrinking So That Other People Won’t Feel Insecure Around You.
We Are All Meant To Shine, As Children Do.
We Were Born To Make Manifest The Glory Of God That Is Within Us.
It’s Not Just In Some Of Us; It’s In Everyone.
And When We Let Our Own Light Shine We Unconsciously Give Other People Permission To Do The Same.
And As We Are Liberated From Our Own Fear, Our Presence Automatically Liberates Others
- Marianne Williamson -
[NOTE – BEING AFRAID AND REFUSING TO GET INVOLVED WON’T STOP US FROM DYING. BUT BEING AFRAID CAN PREVENT US FROM LIVING]
(Nkosi Sikeleli Africa )
God bless Africa May her glory be lifted high Hear our petitions .
God bless us, Your children God we ask You to protect our nation Intervene and end all conflicts Protect us, protect our nation, our nation.
From the blue of our heaven, From the depths of our sea, Over our eternal mountain ranges, Where the cliffs give answer.
Sounds the call to come together, And united we shall stand, Let us live and strive for freedom, In South Africa our land.
[Enoch Mankayi Sontonga]
[http://www.infowars.com/infowars.asx] / [gcnlive.com] / [http://alexjonesringtones.net/]
WAKE UP ! STAY UP MY BROTHERS & SISTERS ! BE SELF-SUFFICIENT IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
- Life Is a Game. Have Fun. [ Luke 18:17 / Isaiah 11:6 ]
Being who the U.S. President, Barak Obama is, he will not have any business with a corrupt country, full of political mugus- who steal from the electorate, misappropriate funds, rig elections etc. Nigerians must make themselves worthy of visit by the U.S. President like Ghanians have done before expecting any visit from him.