President Akufo-Addo wants his newly appointed Ambassadors and High Commissioners to place premium on how to garner support for Ghana’s Covid-19 recovery plan.
He has therefore, asked all the envoys to familiarise themselves with what has come to be known and accepted as ‘Obatanpa Cares’ Covid-19 recovery agenda and begin to champion it in their various countries of assignment.
The President gave the admonition whilst swearing in 21 Ambassadors and High Commissioners at the Jubilee House (presidency) on Wednesday evening where he administered the Oath of Allegiance, Official Oath and the Oath of Secrecy.
He said the selection and appointment of the new envoys has come at a time when the entire world has been devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic and are looking for a path to recovery.
Ghana, the President said, has equally been hit by the pandemic, reason the recovery of the economy should be the burden of members of government which includes the Ambassadors and High Commissioners.
He therefore, stressed the need for his government’s flagship programme, Obaatanpa Cares, to be the pivot around activities of the new envoys so they can engage the rest of the world on behalf of Ghana.
The main elements of the Ghana Obaatanpa Cares, according to President Akufo-Addo, includes “Supporting commercial farming and attracting educated youth into commercial farming, building the country’s line manufacturing sector, developing engineering machine tools and digital economy industries, fast tracking digitalisation, developing Ghana’s housing and construction industry, establishing Ghana as a regional hub, reviewing and optimising the implementation of government’s flagship and key programmes, and creating jobs for young people and expanding opportunities for the vulnerable in society.”
“Ambassadors and High Commissioners, you have to familiarise yourselves with this objectives which are at the core of my second term mandate as they represent our surest way out of the pandemic and which will thrust Ghana back to the path of progress and prosperity. Each one of you must help and contribute to the success of this programme by facilitating as much foreign investment into the country as you can,” the President charged them.
On behalf of his colleague 21 envoys, Ghana’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, assured the President that they will work extremely hard to help the recovery process of the country from the impact of Covid-19.
Envoys List
The 21 envoys include Ms. Khadija Iddrisu, High Commissioner to Zambia, Mr. Kwabena Okubi-Appiah, Ambassador to Liberia, Oheneba Dr. Lesley Akyaa Opoku-Ware, Ambassador to Russian, Lt. Gen Obed Boamah Akwa (Rtd), Ambassador to Egypt, Mr. Charles Asuako Owiredu, High Commissioner to South Africa, Mr. Francis Danti Kotia, Ambassador to the Netherlands, Mrs. Francisca Ashietey-Odunton, Ambassador to Turkey, Alhaji Ahmed Ramadan, Ambassador to United Arab Emirates, Mr. Napoleon Abdulai, Ambassador to Mali, and Mrs. Sylvia Naa Adaawa Annoh, Ambassador to Denmark.
The rest are Madam Barbara Akuorkor Benisa, High Commissioner to Malta, Ms. Alima Mahama (Hajia), Ambassador to United States of America, Mr. Yakubu Alhassan, High Commissioner to Namibia, Mr. Samuel Yaw Nsiah, Ambassador to Cuba, Madam Christine Churcher, Ambassador to Benin, Mr. Damptey Bediako Asare, High Commissioner to Kenya, Alhaji Mohammad Habibu Tijani, Ambassador to Korea, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Mr. Michael Ofori-Atta, Ambassador-At-Large, and Mr. Emmanuel Kwame Asiedu Antwi, Ambassador In Situ (Chief of Protocol).
By Charles Takyi-Boadu