Bush lands 'morrow for 3-day official visit

Monday, February 18, 2008 — Front Page

Story: Kofi Yeboah & Lucy Adoma Yeboah
THE US Presidential Jet, the Air Force One, will touch down at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) at exactly 7:30 p.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, February 19, with President George Walker Bush on board to begin a three-day official visit to Ghana.
His wife, Laura, top American officials and about 80 journalists will be part of the presidential entourage.
The 36-hour visit by President Bush to Ghana will be the fourth leg of his five-nation African tour that has already taken him to Tanzania, Rwanda and Benin, with Liberia wrapping up the tour. It is the second by the American President to Africa.
George Bush’s first visit to Africa in 2003 took him to Senegal, South Africa, Botswana, Uganda and Nigeria.
Issues high on the agenda for discussion between President Bush and his host, President Kufuor, include poverty, HIV/AIDS, the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), African unity and regional security.
“This trip will be an opportunity for the President to review firsthand the progress made, since his last visit in 2003, in efforts to increase economic development and fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and other treatable diseases, as a result of the United States’ robust programmes in these areas,” a White House statement on the visit said.
The statement noted that President Bush would also hold discussions with his hosts about how the United States could help promote democratic reforms, respect for human rights, free trade, open investment regimes and economic opportunity across the continent.
Briefing journalists in Accra last Friday on President Bush’s itinerary, the Head of the Public Affairs Section at the US Embassy in Accra, Mr Chris Hodges, said President Bush would be welcomed at the Jubilee Lounge of the KIA on Tuesday evening.
He said most of President Bush’s engagements would be on Wednesday when he would meet President Kufuor at the Castle, Osu, after which the two Presidents would address a press conference at the Castle.
Mr Hodges said later in the day, President Bush would attend a luncheon with some selected members of the US Peace Corps, after which he would visit the Ghana International School in Accra to interact with the schoolchildren.
He said President Bush would also visit the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre to interact with a section of the private sector who had been exporting products to the US under the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) and attend a State Dinner at the Banquet Hall in the evening.
Mr Hodges said Mrs Bush would also visit a primary school at Mallam, a suburb of Accra, in the morning to interact with the pupils and then visit the Maamobi Polyclinic, where the US government is undertaking a malaria control project, later in the afternoon.
The visit of the 43rd American President to Ghana in particular and Africa in general is very significant in many respects.
First, it comes at a time when America is initiating policies, unprecedented in the history of that country, to commit millions of dollars to support development initiatives in Africa and boost the economies of African countries.
Through AGOA, which opens up the American market to 10,000 products from Africa on quota-free and duty-free bases, and the MCA, which commits about US$5 billion to support various development projects in some developing countries, the Bush administration has re-defined America’s relations with Africa for the better.
In 2003, the US Congress approved $15 billion for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) but in November 2007 President Bush urged Congress to double the money for the global fight against AIDS to $30 billion over the next five years.
That campaign against HIV and AIDS is being undertaken in 120 countries, including 15 in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.
According to the White House, as of the end of September 2007, 1.36 million people in those beneficiary countries had received anti-retroviral treatment under the initiative, which is aimed at averting infant infections by treating pregnant women.
“Doubling the funding for PEPFAR will provide treatment for 2.5 million people,” the White House believes.
Ghana has been a major beneficiary of America’s support to Africa in recent times, profiting immensely from the AGOA and MCA initiatives.
Another significance of the visit is that it strengthens diplomatic relations between Ghana and America, relations which have improved tremendously in recent times, exemplified by two official state visits to the US by President Kufuor in 2004 and 2006.
Since the two Presidents assumed office in 2001, they have met seven times at different occasions and places and President Bush’s State Visit to Ghana will be the eighth time the two will be meeting and the first in Ghana.
Political analysts believe that the growing relations between Ghana and the US, especially the profound confidence President Bush has developed in President Kufuor, is premised on the growth of democracy, good governance and the rule of law in Ghana.
The significance of President Bush’s visit to Ghana also lies in the fact that he and his host will end their two-term tenure in office in December this year, for which reason they are expected to share some notes on their stewardship.
Perhaps one significance of the visit that will leave fond memories on the minds of many Ghanaians is the fact that President Bush will be the second sitting American President ever to visit Ghana and, more admirably, the first to sleep in the country.
The first time a sitting American President ever visited Ghana was on March 23, 1998 when President William Jefferson Clinton paid a day’s visit to the country at the start of a historic six-nation African tour.
That visit lasted only 10 hours and President Clinton did not stay overnight. Nevertheless, it was most memorable and historic.
The blue and white Air Force One that flew in the 42nd American President touched down on the tarmac of the KIA at exactly 7:45 a.m. to a tumultuous welcome by an ecstatic crowd that had waited patiently to be part of that historic moment.
President Clinton, accompanied by his wife, Hillary, the Black American civil rights activist, Rev Jesse Jackson, and top US officials, was given a red carpet reception at the airport, amidst a colourful cultural display and a 21-gun salute, after which he and his host, Flt Lt J.J. Rawlings, were driven in the Cadillac limousine through some of the principal streets of Accra.
A large number of Ghanaians and foreigners who had lined up the streets waved miniature Ghana and US flags to cheer the two Presidents.
The two Presidents later held closed-door discussions at the Castle, Osu, on matters related to the strengthening of diplomatic relations between Ghana and the US.
President Clinton also had a private meeting with the staff of the US Embassy in Accra and the US Information Service.
One of the highlights of the visit was a durbar of chiefs from all over the country held at the Independence Square in Accra.
A large crowd, including foreigners from all walks of life, never imagined in the history of the country, converged on the Independence Square to witness the majestic dance of the chiefs in their palanquins and other performances, all enveloped in a colourful and rich Ghanaian culture.
President Clinton was reported to have declared later that in all his life his visit to Ghana was the most memorable, considering the warm reception he had been accorded.
But that was not the only memory the American President took away from Ghana on that visit. Indeed, he made a personal request to take along with him only two Ghanaian newspapers — the Daily Graphic, Ghana’s biggest selling newspaper, and the now defunct High Street Journal, an Accra-based private business newspaper.
Well-informed sources at the US Embassy in Accra said President Clinton gave specific instructions that his choice of quality Ghanaian newspapers should be put on his seat on Air Force One before departing Accra.