Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05ACCRA1085
2005-06-01 17:56:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Accra
Cable title:  

AMBASSADOR MEETS GHANA'S MINISTER OF INTERIOR

Tags:  ASEC EFIN GH KWMN PGOV PREF PREL PTER 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ACCRA 001085 

SIPDIS

LAGOS FOR DEA CLAYTON WHEELER
DEPT FOR INL ERENI ROESS, G/TIP SALLY NEUMAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/31/2015
TAGS: ASEC EFIN GH KWMN PGOV PREF PREL PTER
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS GHANA'S MINISTER OF INTERIOR


Classified By: Ambassador Mary C. Yates for reasons 1.5 d and e.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ACCRA 001085

SIPDIS

LAGOS FOR DEA CLAYTON WHEELER
DEPT FOR INL ERENI ROESS, G/TIP SALLY NEUMAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/31/2015
TAGS: ASEC EFIN GH KWMN PGOV PREF PREL PTER
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS GHANA'S MINISTER OF INTERIOR


Classified By: Ambassador Mary C. Yates for reasons 1.5 d and e.


1. (C) Summary: On May 27, Ambassador paid a courtesy call
on Ghana's new Minister of Interior, Papa Owusu-Ankomah. He
hoped for increased assistance in counter-narcotics and noted
that the Cabinet has approved a draft trafficking in persons
(TIP) bill. He promised to respond to us on proposed
amendments to Letters of Agreement on counternarcotics and
TIP. He had security concerns about some Sudanese seeking
refugee status. The draft money laundering bill is being
reviewed by the financial community. He acknowledged
heightened concerns about violent (although unsophisticated)
criminals and small arms trafficking (we offer our assessment
of crime and arms trafficking in the comment.) Owusu-Ankomah
promises to be a good interlocutor on law enforcement issues.
End summary.

--------------
Counter-Narcotics
--------------


2. (SBU) Ambassador praised our excellent bilateral
cooperation on law enforcement, especially in
counter-narcotics. The Minister appreciated USG support,
saying he hoped for continued support in counter-narcotics.
Narcotics trafficking is a serious concern in Ghana,
especially trafficking through Ghana for other countries. He
would like to get sniffer dogs and more sophisticated
narcotics detection equipment. The Ambassador noted our
appreciation for the good cooperation from Narcotics Control
Board (NCB) Executive Secretary Col. Isaac Akuoko. The
Minister assured Ambassador that he recognized Akuoko's
talents in a sensitive, critical organization and would
maintain him in charge of the NCB for at least another two
years.

--------------
Trafficking in Persons
--------------


3. (SBU) Ambassador stressed the importance of passing an
anti-trafficking in persons (TIP) bill (Note: Before
becoming Minister of Interior, Owusu-Ankomah was the Minister

of Justice and Attorney General, and was directly involved in
preparing the TIP law. End note.) Owusu-Ankomah said the
Cabinet had just approved the draft law. It will be gazetted
soon and he hoped it would be submitted to parliament before
this parliamentary session ends in late July.

--------------
Letters of Agreement
--------------


4. (U) Ambassador asked about the status of two draft
amendments to Letters of Agreement we have submitted for his
review, one for cooperation on counter-narcotics and one on
trafficking in persons. Owusu-Ankomah has studied the LOAs
but had not realized these were two different agreements. He
did not see a problem with the agreements and promised to
respond to us, although it could take at least another month.


--------------
Refugees
--------------


5. (C) The Ambassador complimented the Government of Ghana
for its welcoming attitude toward refugees. On the recent
arrival of 220 Sudanese refugees, Owusu-Ankomah said 120 of
them have been adjudicated and the remainder will take about
one more month to process. The GOG has to be very thorough
with these cases "because of certain information we have"
suggesting a potential security risk. Most of these Sudanese
are from the Zagawa tribe and some may have been involved in
Chad's civil war. While he has not yet received a
recommendation from the Refugee Board, Owusu-Ankomah was
inclined to err on the side of caution and refuse refugee
status on security grounds, hoping the Chadian government
would take them back. On TOGOlese refugees, Owusu-Ankomah
said there were no asylum seekers because of strong family
ties in Ghana. (Note: Post's RCO reports that TOGOlese have,
in fact, applied for asylum at various embassies in Accra.
End note.)

--------------
Money Laundering Bill
--------------


6. (SBU) A draft money laundering bill is being sent for
further review by the financial community. According to
Owusu-Ankomah, the Ministry of Finance and Bank of Ghana had
not had an opportunity to review the draft legislation.
Ghana is seriously looking at promoting offshore banking and,
in this context, will be reviewing all of its banking laws,
including the anti-money laundering bill. The Ambassador
noted that the G-8 countries clearly see the money laundering
bill in the context of counter-terrorism efforts. She hoped
the GOG could separate banking from counter-terrorism issues
in expediting the moneylaundering law. The Minister said he
would take this up with the Attorney General.

--------------
Crime Situation
--------------


7. (SBU) The Ambassador asked about growing reports of
violent crime in Ghana. Owusu-Ankomah acknowledged that
people in Ghana should be vigilant and should avoid driving
on roads outside Accra at night. Armed robberies are being
committed by unsophisticated "desperados," most of whom are
involved in or using drugs, at times using crude homemade
weapons. Because of increased patrolling and police actions
in the cities, these criminals have moved into more rural
areas. Ghanaians have been calling for the hiring of more
police, but the police force lacks funding to provide the
needed lodging. Lodging is already a problem for the 7,000
additional police that have been hired since 2001.

--------------
Arms Trafficking
--------------


8. (SBU) Owusu-Ankomah said trafficking of small arms
through Ghana is a problem, largely because of Ghana's porous
borders, especially in the northern regions. The GOG is
looking seriously at improving border management, including
the introduction of scanners at some border posts.

--------------
Comment
--------------


9. (C) On the Minister: Owusu-Ankomah was much more
engaging and pleasant with us than he had ever been as
Attorney General. His support for NCB's Akuoko and his
interest in our LOAs (he pulled copies from a folder on his
desk) are encouraging. His cooperative attitude may reflect
growing confidence in his position in the government and
future political prospects (He is one of the eleven reported
contenders to be the New Patriotic Party's presidential
candidate in 2008.) It may also just reflect our different
relationship with the two ministries. When he was Minister
of Justice, we clashed at times on TIP, the Westel commercial
dispute, and other matters. We have a more positive agenda
with the Ministry of Interior, including the promise of
assistance through our Letters of Agreement and upcoming
police training. Whatever the reason, the enthusiasm and
cooperative spirit Owusu-Ankomah showed in this meeting
should serve us well in our engagement across the range of
law enforcement and refugee issues.


10. (C) On the Crime Situation: Owusu-Ankomah's candor on
the crime situation was also encouraging. When the
Ambassador recently asked the Minister of Defense about crime
concerns, he was dismissive, saying it was safer to walk at
night in Accra than in most American cities. Ghana Police
officials have given mixed signals on the crime situation but
flatly deny an increase in the crime rate, especially
politically sensitive crime against foreigners which they
feel may scare away investors. In a recent meeting with
PolChief, the new Inspector General of Police said violent
crime was going down in many parts of Ghana, although
criminals would always try to take advantage of opportunities
in the wealthy new estate developments which do not have
adequate police station protection.


11. (C) More on Crime: RSO reports an increase in reports
of violent crime, especially those involving arms, in the
past six months. Ghana Police Assistant Commissioner Kofi
Boakye said nearly all car hijackings now involve locally
manufactured arms. Boakye also said robbery is rampant and
that suggesting that armed robbery is limited to certain
areas gives the public the false notion that it can be easily
swept out. Boakye said robbery is "a clear and present
danger" in Ghana, where we are surrounded by wartorn
countries." He cited robberies in broad daylight, instances
in which robbers shut down the Accra-Kumasi Road to rob up to
30 vehicles, and instances in which robbers hired weapons
from the police or military as especially worrying. Boakye
said professional armed robbers need to continue their crime
sprees to support their construction of new buildings. Yet
police see a new class of amateurs rising who are almost
always under the influence of drugs or alcohol and more
likely to fire their weapons out of fear. It makes sense to
us that a violent crime increase may be linked to increased
narcotics trafficking, porous borders, and the availability
of small arms.


12. (C) On Arms Trafficking: The Minister recently
expressed his concern in a press event about the production
in Ghana of 100,000 small arms annually, made by blacksmiths
in several parts of the country. DATT, RSO, and ECON have
seen little evidence that arms trafficking or production has
increased to this level in Ghana. A 2001 UNDP report
estimated 40,000 illegal weapons in Ghana, most of which were
unregistered, but legal types. Many of these were locally
produced hunting weapons. The Minister's comments to the
press may have had a political agenda. They followed on the
heels of a string of armed robberies that received widespread
media attention and were perceived as an embarrassment to the
ruling NPP party.

--------------
Brief Bio
--------------


13. (U) Member of Parliament for the Sekondi constituency in
the Western Region, Papa Owusu-Ankomah became Minister for
the Interior in February 2005 after President Kufuor's
re-election. Prior to this role, he had stepped up to be
Attorney General and Minister of Justice in Kufuor's April
2003 cabinet reshuffle. Previously, he had served as Majority
Leader and Parliamentary Affairs Minister since October 2001.
Before that, he had been the Deputy Majority Leader and
Minister for Youth and Sports. He succeeded the Kufuor
government,s first Minister of Youth and Sports, Mallam Isa,
convicted of misuse of government funds in the spring of

2001. He first won election to Parliament in 1996, serving
as minority spokesman for information in the previous
Parliament.


14. (U) Owusu-Ankomah was born on April 27, 1958 in
Sekondi. He is an attorney by training, who completed his
studies at the University of Ghana. Among other positions,
Owusu-Ankomah worked as a lawyer for the Sekondi-Takoradi
City Council in the 1980s, and served as Secretary to the
Western Region Bar Association in the 1990s. He is an ethnic
Fanti and is married, with three children.


15. (U) Owusu-Ankomah was generally seen as much more of a
Parliamentary team-player than J.H. Mensah, who was renowned
for his intellect while disliked for his arrogant and
disdainful attitude towards his colleagues on both sides of
the aisle. The Minority Leader, Alban Bagbin, expressed to
us his own good relations with Owusu-Ankomah. Owusu-Ankomah
is among the possible NPP contenders to succeed Kufuor.
YATES