AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH PRESIDENT MILLS

C O N F I D E N T I A L ACCRA 000043

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/W

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/05/2029
TAGS: GH KDEM PGOV PHUM PINS PREL
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH PRESIDENT MILLS

Classified By: POLCHIEF GPERGL FOR REASONS 1.4 b&d


1. (C) Ambassador met January 16 with President John
Atta-Mills, who had requested a meeting the day before.
Mills was alone in his office for the meeting, which he had
made clear was to establish a personal relationship with the
Ambassador.


2. (C) In the midst of background media noise over the past
few days in which some NDC party members have been taking
President Mills to task for not purging District Assemblies
of holdovers from the Kufuor administration and not acting
decisively in making appointments, Mills told the Ambassador
that he would proceed at his own pace. "I am a lawyer by
training," he said, "and I am deliberate because I want to
make sure that we are making the right decisions." He said
that he had already told those who were trying to exert
pressure on him through the media that they were wasting
their time, that he would not be swayed from doing what was
best for the country just to respond to a public outcry. he
also noted that he would not cave in to pressure to
reciprocate perceived slights to the NDC during the NPP's
tenure, despite pressure from some in his party. (Read:
Former President Rawlings).


3. (C) Mills also discussed his well-publicized meeting on
January 15 with the CEO of Kosmos International, the American
firm that has made significant discoveries in the Jublilee
Oil Fields off Ghana's coast. He appeared to be pleased with
the meeting, and told Ambassador that his primary objective
is that any petroleum agreements and contracts be handled
with utmost transparency. The Ghanaian people must be able
to see clearly what is happening with any oil revenues, he
said.


4. (C) Although the new government had made plans to send
Vice President John Mahama to the Obama inauguration next
week, Mills noted that Ghana would instead be represented by
its Ambassador in Washington. (NOTE: Embassy found out that
the VP visit was turned off late yesterday, presumably in
response to the Department and Mission suggestions that it
was not appropriate. END NOTE) Ambassador told Mills that
even though both Presidents would likely be seized by
domestic economic issues in the early days of their
administrations, he would be proposing that Washington
consider a high-level meeting relatively early, a prospect
President Mills welcomed.


5. (C) Mills spent a fair amount of time reminiscing about
his student days at Stanford and the time he spent teaching
at Temple University. It was clearly a time he remembers
fondly, and he contrasted the warmth of the students he met
at Stanford to the more reserved academic atmosphere he had
encountered in the UK where he earned his first post-graduate
degree.


6. (C) In closing, Ambassador promised Mills that he would
be honest and forthright in communicating with him, even if
President Mills might not always like the message. Mills
replied that he cherished the truth, and that the Ambassador
would not be assisting him if he did not provide an honest
assessment. Ambassador once again congratulated Mills on his
election, and emphasized that the new President would enjoy
the full support of the US government. Mills in return
thanked the US for its continuing support, and said that he
hoped that the he and the Ambassador would be able to stay in
close contact in the coming years.

7.(C) Comment: President Mills meeting alone may indicate
that he is still not fully confident of all of his staff. We
believe he very much intends to be his own man, which may
lead to an altercation at some point with Former President
Rawlings.
TEITELBAUM