Jerry Rawlings cautions U.S. on democracy
28th August 2010 · 0 Comments
Former President RawlingsFormer President Rawlings has called on the United States to be cautious in judging the success of democratic regimes on the continent.
He said on numerous occasions the United States and other countries of the West had supported elected regimes that disregard the true meaning of freedom and justice.
Speaking during a courtesy call on him by a United States Congressional delegation led by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, the former President, who is also the founder of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), said many elected governments had failed their electorate because they were wittingly or unwittingly propped up by Western countries who saw no wrong with these governments because they were assumed to have been elected by popular vote.
The former President thus called on the United States not to ignore freedom and justice as a measuring rod in determining the success of African democracies.
He said in the United States, elections were won on economic policy rather than the application of freedom and justice because institutions that protected such freedoms had passed the test of time and worked efficiently.
Accompanied by Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings and Special Aide, Kofi Adams, former President Rawlings noted that in Ghana and some parts of Africa, governments gained the confidence of the electorate by guaranteeing freedom and justice and ensuring that the wrongs of the past were corrected expeditiously.
Congresswoman Jackson Lee commended Ghana for the strides it had made in its democratic development and praised former President Rawlings for the role he played in establishing the current political dispensation.
She encouraged the government and people of Ghana to protect the country’s democratic ideals and work to develop it further.
On Ghana’s oil find, Congresswoman Jackson Lee counselled stakeholders to ensure that the newly found natural resource was prudently applied to the socio-economic development of Ghana so the ordinary people could enjoy the benefits.
Colleague Congressmen Bob Inglis and Henry Brown as well as Donald Teitelbaum, United States Ambassador to Ghana, accompanied Congresswoman Lee.
Others on the delegation were Congressional staff Genell Brown and Dave Grimaldi as well as Vernelle Trim, Political Counsellor at the American Embassy in Accra.
Congresswoman Jackson Lee represents the 18th District of Texas and has been a member of the United States House of Representatives since 1995. She serves on the House Committees on Foreign Affairs, Homeland Security and the Judiciary.
FROM THE GHANA DAILY GRAPHIC
© 2010, Wilfred Kabs Kanu. All rights reserved. Discuss this article on the Salone Forum Salone Forum
