Ghanaian praised for trust in democracy

THE Danish Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Stig Barlyng, has commended Ghanaians in general and politicians in particular for exhibiting rare constitutional stamina in the light of the closest result in the 2008 general election.
He recalled that “during the exciting and nail-biting days between the first voting and the last result, Ghanaians rose to the challenge of maintaining trust in democracy”, adding that “Ghana has shown the way, not only to sister nations in the sub-region, but to the rest of the world”.
Mr Barlyng made the commendation during the celebration of the 160th independence/National Constitution Day of Denmark in Accra in remembrance of the 1849 signing of the Danish Constitution which made Denmark a constitutional monarchy.
He said “To Ghanaian politicians, a very slim majority should always be a reminder that political power is illusive. Democracy works best when the majority and minority agree on the fundamentals, and agree to disagree on means of fulfilling the basics”, he stated.
Mr Barlyng stressed “ In democracy, respect for minority was as important as looking for the comfort of the majority”.
He acknowledged the fact that Ghana was confronted with economic challenges as a result of the global economic downturn, but expressed the hope that a solution could be found in the adaptation of new realities in sub-regional, continental and global alliances.
Ghana, he said, would forge ahead by strengthening democracy, decentralisation and good governance”.
The ambassador stated that Denmark had had cordial relations with Ghana for about 400 years, which if observed with “present day eyes”, were problematic, but now was far ahead in the positive direction.
He said celebration of the Danish Constitution was marking democracy with a whole array of freedoms and rights, where one person’s liberties and rights were limited by similar rights and liberties of every other citizen.
“This code is the sacred, simple and basic principle in the law of laws—the Constitution”, he declared, and recounted the various constitutional amendments, which the Danish Constitution had gone through, with a referendum to be held today to rectify the popular female succession of the monarch.
Mr Barlyng expressed the Danish government’s intention to maintain funding for African development irrespective of the economic hardship that also confronted them.
“We are staunch supporters of the international development agenda with focus on strengthening the country-led development as expressed in the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the Accra Agenda for Action”, he emphasised.
The Minister of Agriculture, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, who led the government delegation, also acknowledged the contribution made by Denmark towards the development of Ghana and expressed the government’s determination to build a solid democratic state.
He observed that with support from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), Ghana had been able reduce child mortality rate, malaria and guinea worm infestation in the country.
Mr Ahwoi agreed that those were challenging times that required innovation and alliances with sub-regional, continental and global partners if Ghana was to forge ahead in its development agenda.
He expressed the government’s commitment to the fight against climate change which Denmark was at the forefront.
The minister said it was important to join the fight because any change in climate greatly affected agriculture which was the bedrock of the country.