Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05ACCRA870
2005-05-06 14:56:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Accra
Cable title:  

AMBASSADOR MEET GHANA'S MINISTER OF DEFENSE

Tags:  GH IV KDEM PGOV PHUM PREL TO 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.


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FM AMEMBASSY ACCRA
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C O N F I D E N T I A L ACCRA 000870 

SIPDIS


PARIS FOR CHARLES NEARY
EUCOM FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/03/2015
TAGS: GH IV KDEM PGOV PHUM PREL TO
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEET GHANA'S MINISTER OF DEFENSE

Classified By: POL HIEF SCOTT TICKNOR FOR REASONS 1.5 B AND D.

C O N F I D E N T I A L ACCRA 000870

SIPDIS


PARIS FOR CHARLES NEARY
EUCOM FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/03/2015
TAGS: GH IV KDEM PGOV PHUM PREL TO
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEET GHANA'S MINISTER OF DEFENSE

Classified By: POL HIEF SCOTT TICKNOR FOR REASONS 1.5 B AND D.


1. (C) Summary: The Ambassador, PolChief and DATT mt on
April 29 with Ghana's Minister of Dfense Kwame Addo-Kufuor
(the President's brother),at the Minister's request. The
Ambassador highlighted our excellent military-to-military
relationship. Kufuor voiced optimism on Togo and Cote
d'Ivoire and hoped the USG could help encourage moderation
from former President Rawlings. He said the GOG was
investigating a cross-border incursion from Cote d'Ivoire as
well as a violent incident in Kumasi which may have involved
soldiers. In a discussion of good governance, the Ambassador
expressed concern about growing allegations of corruption in
Ghana. He agreed and sought USG assistance to the Serious
Fraud Office. End summary.

--------------
Togo
--------------


2. (C) Minister Kufuor was hopeful that, with the help of
ECOWAS, Nigerian President Obasanjo and Ghana's President
Kufuor, peace would return to Togo. Ghana is working within
the context of ECOWAS. Togolese opposition leader Gilchrist
Olympio cannot turn his back on France and Ghana, he said.
The U.S. needs to pressure the opposition to work toward a
government of national reconciliation and encourage the
opposition to work within the reality of the election and
prepare themselves for the next parliamentary elections,
Kufuor said. Ghana's ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) went
through the same process when they lost in the rigged 1992
election, bided their time, and eventually prevailed in the
2000 election, he said.


3. (C) The Ambassador noted the violence in Togo and asked
how the GOG could excuse the trashing of electoral computers.
"You know Africa," Kufuor responded, stating that since
there was no loss of life in that incident, leaders need to
look ahead. France has pronounced the elections free and
fair, he said, and France is very important in shaping
events. Wherever France goes, the EU will go too, he said.
Faure Gnassingbe is a "cultured young man, a refined chap"

who can be persuaded to move Togo on a positive path.

--------------
Cote d'Ivoire
--------------


4. (C) Kufuor was "reasonably confident" about the
prospects for peace in Cote d'Ivoire. South African
President Mbeki is seen as an honest broker and the
government's decision to allow Ouattara to compete in the
election is encouraging. The fine points need to be worked
out but Cote d'Ivoire may have "turned a corner", he said.
The Ambassador noted some worrying signs which bear watching.
She asked about a recently publicized incident in which
Ivoirian rebels reportedly crossed into Ghana on March 12,
possibly with the assistance of a Ghanaian soldier working as
a UN peacekeeper, kidnapped a chief and took him back into
Cote d'Ivoire. The Minister said the implicated Ghanaian
officer had been recalled to Ghana for questioning. Kufuor
was clear that the GOG is not accusing him, but wants to hear
his side of the story. He attributed the incident to a minor
dispute among chiefs which will be settled over time.
Comment: The minister treated the Ivoirian cross-border
incursion as a serious incident that merited his personal
attention and front page (government) press coverage. Other
sources have been quite dismissive of the incident. NPP
National Chairman Harona Esseku suggested to PolChief that
Kufuor's handling of this incident was an embarrassment and
diminished his stature (Kufuor flew to the Northern region
with much fanfare, reportedly against the recommendation of
his senior staff, for what turned out to be a minor incident
involving a chief who Esseku described as a known arms
smuggler.) It could be that the minister was attempting to
divert attention from other political issues. End comment.

--------------
Rawlings
--------------


5. (C) Kufuor asked if the Embassy could help intervene
with former President J.J. Rawlings to encourage him to tone
down his anti-government rhetoric, which the Minister said
was causing excessive "turbulence" in Ghanaian politics. The
Ambassador noted that, while she was by no means an apologist

for Rawlings, she thought he had made efforts to control his
remarks during the recent African Presidential Archives and
Research Center (APARC) meeting in South Africa. She
suggested the government might choose to ignore Rawlings'
frequent barbs. The minister indicated that he got her
point.

--------------
Violence in Kumasi
--------------


6. (C) The Ambassador expressed concern about media reports
that 40 young men (reportedly including soldiers) went on a
rampage in Kumasi on April 27, destroying property and
injuring 50 people. According to press reports, the men were
avenging the mob lynching of a fellow soldier who was
involved in a gambling problem. Minister Kufuor thought
the men were off-duty police officers, and commented that
this kind of rampage used to happen during the Rawlings
years. He said the matter was being investigated by a High
Court judge. Note: the Ministry's Chief Director Frank
Mpare told PolChief after the meeting that he thought the men
were soldiers. End note.

-------------- --
Good Governance and Corruption
-------------- --


7. (C) Kufuor asked the Ambassador how she assessed
democratic governance in Ghana. She responded that she was
impressed with Ghana's governance and its December 2004 free
and fair elections. She noted that the MCA eligibility for
the second year was public USG recognition of good
governance. However, we are hearing growing concerns from
private sector, NGO, politician and other diplomatic contacts
about rising corruption in Ghana. This could become a
significant obstacle to democracy and economic growth.
Kufuor said he agreed fully and would talk to the President
about this concern. He noted that top GOG officials have to
declare their assets publicly and are constantly under
scrutiny. He said ministers are especially scrutinized when
others below them should be investigated. Nonetheless, the
GOG should take more serious efforts to counter corruption,
he said, perhaps by strengthening the Serious Fraud Office
(he hoped with USG assistance.)

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


8. (C) This meeting replaced a canceled meeting when the
minister flew to the north to investigate the Ivoirian
incursion. He had sent his Chief of Staff to see the
Ambassador on the eve of the canceled visit by General Wald
to request that Wald make a strong statement about Ghana's
democracy because of threatening remarks in the press by
Rawlings. In this context, in our April 29 the minister
seemed most forward leaning on the Rawlings and governance
issues. As the President's brother, Minister Kufuor has
power beyond his Defense portfolio and is in a position to
transmit our anti-corruption message to the top levels of
government. His view of the Togo situation probably reflects
the President's. (During a May 2 meeting, PolChief heard a
similar view on Togo from the new Inspector General of
Police, Patrick Acheampong.) According to NPP National
Chairman Esseku, Minister Kufuor is lining himself up to be a
contender for the party ticket in the 2008 national election
(although Esseku and some other contacts do not believe he
has a strong chance.)

--------------
Brief Biography
--------------


9. (U) Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor (65) has been Minister of
Defense and a Member of Parliament from Manhyia, Ashanti
Region since 2001. He is the brother of President John
Kufuor. From April 2002-April 2003 he also served as Acting
Interior Minister. He has a B.A. and a medical degree from
Cambridge University. Starting in 1971, Kufuor worked as a
physician for several hospitals in Ghana and the U.K. . He
was President of the Ghana Medical Association from 1992-1995
and was elected to parliament in 1996 as a member of the
ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP). He went to the United
States on an International Visitor Program in 1997 with seven
other MPs. Kufuor is a lay preacher with the Anglican

Church. He is married and has three children.

YATES


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