Dr Bawumia addressing the people
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has indicated that there was no winner or loser in the ruling by the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea’s (ITLOS’) judgment on the maritime dispute between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire last Saturday.
“We are all winners in the case because we will continue to live in peace with our brothers and sisters from Ivory Coast and corporate with one another across many spheres. And this ruling should not destroy the ties between the two sovereign states,” he admonished.
He continued, “We took a very good way to resolve the dispute; there was no fighting, there was no quarrelling. We just adjudicated at the International Tribunal and the matter, by the grace of God, has been settled.”
Cote d’Ivoire dragged Ghana before the ITLOS for allegedly using the development of its (Ghana’s) oil industry to annex a territory which did not belong to it.
The two countries were therefore seeking resolution over the dispute at the international tribunal.
Ghana opted for arbitration processes at the ITLOS after several talks with Cote d’Ivoire over the matter had failed.
Cote d’Ivoire requested the ITLOS to direct Ghana to suspend oil exploration in the disputed maritime area until a substantive ruling is given.
The court therefore, in April 2015, ordered Ghana to suspend all new drilling in the disputed area until ruling had been given on the matter.
Last Saturday, the ITLOS Chamber, in a unanimous decision, held that there had not been any violation on the part of Ghana on the maritime boundary of Cote d’Ivoire.
Dr Bawumia was speaking at this year’s Kundum Festival of the chiefs and people of Nsein Traditional Area in the Nzema East municipality of the Western Region on Saturday.
The Kundum Festival also climaxed activities for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the enstoolment of Awulae Agyefi Kwame II as Omanhene of Nsein Traditional area in the Western Region.
Dr. Bawumia described the decision as good news to Ghana and mentioned that the judgment was very consistent with Ghana’s position all along.
“So we are thankful to God. We are also thankful to our brothers and government of Ivory Coast; and I think it is very remarkable that we should all receive this good news,” he added.
Digital Address System
The vice president revealed that in November this year, Ghana would launch a digital address system which would adopt the most advanced digital address system in the world, capable of determining the location and properties of citizens.
He noted that the implementation of the digital address system would put Ghana ahead of the United States of America (USA) and other advanced countries’ addressing systems.
“We will leapfrog above the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom (UK) and have a very modern address system. Even if you are standing in the middle of the sea within Ghana’s waters, we will know your address,” he pointed out.
“We all know how difficult it is to find addresses in our country. So we have decided to use the most advanced of technology that is available to us in the world today. And we are moving towards a digital mapping system,” he told the gathering.
Dr Bawumia continued, “So it is really a remarkable address system that Ghana is about to have, thanks to the vision of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. Very soon, the education will start by the National Commission for Civic Education and others. It will really be a remarkable address system,” he stressed.
He assured the people of Nsein that the government would soon fix the deteriorated roads in the area and construct a modern fishing harbour at Axim, the capital of the municipality.
The Omanhene of Nsein, Awulae Agyefi Kwame, commended the government for the implementation of the free senior high school policy which, according to him, had brought some kind of relief to many parents and guardians.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Nsein