THE out-going British High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr. Nicholas Westcott, has commended the government for allowing open debates on the prudent use of its resources, especially the oil for the benefit of the people.
Singling out the recent lively public debate as to the best way to manage the nation's oil and gas resource, the envoy said he was impressed with Ghana's willingness to engage in such debates both within and outside the country, stressing the practice was worth emulating.
Mr. Westcott made these remarks when he called on Vice-President John Mahama at the Castle, Osu in Accra to bid him farewell after a three-year duty tour of Ghana.
During his stay in the country, the High Commissioner said he had learnt a lot about the nation's culture and fledgling democracy, and stressed the need for its consolidation to serve as a model to other African nations.
He lauded the government for the prudent management of the economy, telling the Vice-President that "Your contribution to helping build trade and business [in Ghana] has been very impressive." He also praised the country for its ability to be innovative in solutions to its problems.
Mr. Westcott, who leaves the country for Brussels, Belgium to work on an European Union project for Africa, expressed confidence that his three-year stay in Ghana had strengthened relations between the two countries.
He later presented a book about British innovation to the Vice-President.
Vice-President Mahama thanked the British government for supporting Ghana in various spheres through the Department for International Development (DFID).
He noted that DFID had been very helpful in the implementation stage of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) programme.
Mr. Mahama appealed to the out-going High Commissioner to keep supporting SADA programmes through the DFID as SADA begins another phase in the implementation its programmes.
Mr. Mahama said the commencement of an eye hospital project in Ghana in about two weeks time by the British would serve as a symbol of the close friendship between Ghana and Britain.
In another development, Jean Beagle, Executive Director of the United Nations AIDS programme (UNAIDS), paid a courtesy call on Vice-President Mahama at the Castle yesterday, to discuss the country's response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Mrs. Beagle, who was accompanied by Dr. Angela El-Adas, Director-General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, has already met with the UN country team, development partners and some groups, as well as interacted with officials of the Ridge Hospital.
She lauded the country for reducing the HIV prevalence rate to 1.9 per cent but cautioned against complacency, stressing the need to focus resources on areas where a key impact could be made, employing a multi-sectoral approach.
"Ghana's five-year national strategic plan [to combat the scourge of HIV/AIDS], is an excellent one, it is well-consulted and results-oriented," she said.
Mrs. Beagle said the UNAIDS had adopted a three-pronged approach to combat the HIV pandemic, namely prevention, treatment and stigma prevention.
Responding, Vice-President Mahama stressed that in spite of the tremendous gains made in reducing the prevalence rate, the government would not be complacent in the fight against the disease, assuring that the Ghana AIDS Commission would be adequately resourced to do its work effectively.
He said the country's strategic plan focuses on reducing mother to child transmission as it is the belief that innocent children ought not to be infected. He stressed the need to scale the national coverage, saying, government value its partnership with its development partners and would welcome their support in such efforts.
Story: Wisdom Peter Awuku
21/1/11
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