SCENESETTER FOR FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR PISTOLE'S

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ACCRA 002320 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/W; FBI PLEASE PASS TO DEPUTY DIRECTOR JOHN PISTOLE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL SNAR ASEC ECON EAID GH SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR PISTOLE'S VISIT TO ACCRA ¶1. (SBU) We look forward to your November 9 visit and provide the following background: ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Ghana celebrates its fiftieth anniversary in 2007 as Sub-Saharan Africa's first independent country. It has emerged from a turbulent history into a period of stability, democracy and sustained economic growth. Despite some important successes, however, Ghana continues to struggle to deal with persistent poverty, political divisiveness, narcotics trafficking, corruption, governance and security. Ghana and the United States enjoy strong ties and bilateral relations are at an all-time high. Ghana is a reliable partner in peacekeeping, conflict resolution, counter-terrorism, and economic development. U.S. interests center on sQZQQkQt seat on the UN Security Council. END SUMMARY. 2007 AN IMPORTANT YEAR FOR GHANA -------------- ¶3. (U) On March 6, Ghana celebrated its 50th anniversary of independence. Secretary for Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson led the U.S. delegation marking the event. Ghana chairs the African Union (AU) for 2007 and hosted an AU Summit in June. Nearly every African head of state attended this Summit, which debated but did not reach consensus on the future of African integration. The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum was held in July in Accra. President Kufuor has traveled widely this year, including a state visit to Britain, and attendance at the G8 Summit and UN General Assembly. MANY POSITIVE STEPS FORWARD... -------------- ¶4. (SBU) After 15 years of democratic governance, Ghanaians are committed to democracy. Ghana has held four consecutive free and fair national elections. While parliament is weak and the main parties are increasingly polarized, there is genuine political space for the opposition and almost half of parliamentary seats are held by the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) party. Civil society groups, particularly religious associations, are well organized. Ghana's strong religiosity and cl \CQQX'=c.QMuslims and Christians have supported a culture of tolerance. Ghana is relatively stable, with an apolitical military, a strong record on human rights, and a lively, free media. ¶5. (SBU) Politics is increasingly focused on the 2008 presidential and parliamentary election, which promises to be a close race between the NDC and the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP). However, two smaller political parties have generated considerable interest to date and could make the race tighter. Presently, more than 15 candidates are seeking the presidency, but the field will be whittled down to four or five later this year when party nominees are selected. The NPP defeated the NDC in the two previous elections by thin margins. ¶6. (U) The economy has performed generally well under President Kufuor. Major debt relief, large inflows of donor resources, and relatively high cocoa and gold prices have been key to the steady improvements in real GDP growth, which in 2004 topped 5 per cent for the first time in a decade and reached an estimated 6.2 per cent in 2006. Overall poverty rQQYk/tartsO#UHeflation has stayed low (currently at 12 per cent). And in 2007, a promising offshore oil discovery was made in Ghanaian waters. YET DIFFICULT CHALLENGES REMAIN -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Despite Ghana's democracy and stability, politics is deeply polarized, political power is highly centralized, and democratic institutions are weak. Corruption and cronyism are serious problems and Ghana faces human rights challenges relating to child labor and human trafficking. Economically, Ghana is highly vulnerable to price shocks in cocoa, gold, and to a lesser extent, timber (which together account for 70 per cent of exports). It remains heavily dependent on foreign inflows of aid and on remittances. Financial services are growing but Ghana remains largely a cash society ACCRA 00002320 002 OF 002 and access to credit is difficult, short-term and expensive. Infrastructure necessary to support growth is poor, particularly power generation and water supply. Over the last year, Ghana experienced a serious energy crisis with 12-hour power outages every second day. While the crisis seems to have subsided slightly, concerns over long-term energy policies remain. ¶8. (SBU) Ghana also faces a range of security challenges, including a rise in violent street crime and vigilante justice, a proliferation of small arms, and narcotics trafficking. Ghana is increasingly becoming a major transit point for cocaine and heroin bound for Europe and the United States. Narcotics scandals over the past year (one involving the disappearance of 2 tons of cocaine) have implicated senior police officials. The GOG does not have a strong handle on this problem, although it did act effectively in cooperating with the USG on October 22 to arrest and expel to the U.S. two important Afghan heroin traffickers. The UK provides assistance to the GOG primarily through its Operation Westbridge, which targets couriers and air cargo at Kotoka International Airport. The UK and the GOG also launched a new public awareness campaign on October 24. GHANA IN THE WORLD -------------- ¶9. (U) Ghana has lately been playing an increasingly significant global leadership role as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, active member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS),and 2007 Chair of the AU. Ghana has preferred multilateral solutions to global problems and has a history of pan-African leadership. Founding father Kwame Nkrumah's pan-African vision is still prominent in the Ghanaian mindset and is reflected in the four pillars of Ghana's foreign policy: a commitment to multilateralism, pan-Africanism, non-alignment, and "good neighborliness." GHANA AND THE U.S. -------------- ¶10. (SBU) U.S. - Ghana relations are excellent and wide-ranging. The U.S. Mission in Ghana is the third-largest U.S. Mission in Africa and includes the oldest Peace Corps program in the world and a $55 million bilateral USAID program. The U.S. also has strong commercial, political, military-military, and people-to-people relations with Ghana. President Kufuor has met President Bush seven times and hosted the First Lady in January 2006. In August 2006, Ghana signed a $547 million anti-poverty Compact with the United States, Millennium Challenge Corporation. The Compact focuses on accelerating growth and poverty reduction through agricultural and rural development. The Compact has three main components: enhancing the profitability of commercial agriculture among small farmers; reducing the transportation costs affecting agricultural commerce through improvements in transportation infrastructure, and expanding basic community services and strengthening rural institutions that support agriculture and agri-business. BROWN