YouSaid · the spoken record

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

lines on the record: 80
first: 2017-09-24
most recent: 2023-09-24
sittings or episodes: 6
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“It is also worth pointing out that not only do we not get a fair share of the wealth once it is extracted, our lands, environment and oceans are often left devastated by the process, and the competition to gain control over those minerals has often led to insecurity in our countries. I do not seek to blame outsiders for our problems, but since we are being urged to find multilateral solutions, I believe it is worth pointing out that unfairness in the economic order undermines the fight against poverty. Indeed, the flight of capital is continuing the foreign exploitation of Africa, represented by colonialism and imperialism.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“It would of course be an easier battle if trade practices were seen to be fairer and more equitable. The question still remains whether the rich nations are prepared for an equitable and fair trade order. It appears that they are not, and we must therefore continue to fight for a fairer world economic order. It should not be lost on anyone that the minerals on which the world depends to move industry and manufacturing are mostly available in Africa, and yet we who own those fundamental resources by birthright have remained poor, while our minerals have brought vast wealth to nations and peoples outside our continent.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“In the year 2000 in Ghana, there were 90,000 mobile-phone subscribers; today there are more than 41 million. That has led to a remarkable change in the communications within our country and with the outside world. A sizeable and growing proportion of the population has been and continues to be brought into the formal banking sector by the mobile phone. The application of technology can be the tool to set us on the road to prosperity. The modernization of agriculture through the application of technology could well turn out to be the fastest way to make the turnaround we seek. The young people of the world, especially in Ghana and Africa, have demonstrated their ingenuity and innovative prowess, and we need to enlist them fully in the fight.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“If the world wants to marshal all its undoubted energies to support that fight, there can be no better way to start than an acknowledgement and a consensus among the nations of the world that poverty anywhere degrades us all, whether in the developed or developing world. Luckily for us, technological advances are short- circuiting the path that leads us out of poverty, and it is no longer the long and tortuous road it used to be. A mere 20 years ago, mobile phones were a rarity that some feared would become a developed-world status symbol and another sign of the technology gap between rich and poor. Today the poorest person in the most inaccessible place in the poorest country has a mobile phone — often a smartphone. In many ways, that has transformed our lives.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“For us, poverty is a daily reality that we live with and feel, for far too many of our people are burdened with it, and it robs us of the dignity that should be the inherent right of every human being. We know that our performance as Governments will be judged by how successful we are in reducing and eventually eradicating poverty in our countries. As individual sovereign countries, the responsibility is ours not only to aim at reducing poverty but to actually create prosperity for all our citizens. We in Ghana are certainly engaged in fighting to eradicate poverty from our country.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Ghana presents its compliments to the President, a worthy representative of our great neighbour the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and congratulates him heartily on his election to preside over the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session. We also want to express our appreciation to the President of the seventy-third session for her work and to commend the brave theme that has been selected for our consideration during this session. I note that there is a United Nations-accepted definition of poverty, which, like everything undertaken by our Organization, tries to find a form of words that is acceptable to all of us. However, it is probably fair to say that those of us who live in States generally referred to as developing countries are somewhat bemused by arguments and complicated definitions of poverty.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“The powerful nations must be willing to adapt to changes to make our world a better place. After all, we all inhabit the same planet, and we all owe the same duty of care to ensure its survival. The African common position on United Nations reform, as expressed in the Ezulwini Consensus, remains the most comprehensive proposal for the reform of the United Nations, particularly the Security Council. It is time that the global community endorse it so as to create a modern United Nations fit for purpose in our time. May God bless the United Nations and us all.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“It is in everybody’s interests that we, who are counted among the poor of the world, make a rapid transformation from poverty to prosperity. We are determined in Ghana and, increasingly, in more and more parts of Africa, to chart our own paths to prosperity and pay our own way in the world. We are no longer interested in being a burden on others. We will shoulder our own responsibilities and build societies and nations that will be attractive to our youth. We have the necessary sense of enterprise, creativity, innovation and hard work needed to engineer that transition, hence our vision of a Ghana and an Africa beyond aid. It is equally important that the United Nations be reformed so as to be able to preside over the changed and changing world to which we all aspire.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Today the former victim of Western railway imperialism is lending billions to countries throughout Africa, Asia and Europe to build not only railroads, but also highways, ports, power plants, other infrastructure and businesses. The historical echoes are certainly worrisome, but surely we must, and can, learn from history. We in Ghana must build roads, bridges, railways, ports, schools, hospitals, and we must create jobs to keep our young people engaged. It is obvious to us that the development trajectory on which we had been for many decades had not been working. We are trying a different one, and we would appreciate the support and goodwill of the world, especially in helping to curtail the huge flow of illicit funds from our continent.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“It has not been lost on us that the developed, rich and well-established countries have been paying regular visits to China and seeking to open new economic ties and improve upon existing ones. It is also not lost on us that much anxiety is being expressed about the possibility of a recolonization of the African continent by a new Power. We should learn from history. It was at the turn of the twentieth century that China’s first railways were built by Western companies and were financed by Western loans to a nearly bankrupt Qing Dynasty, and it was under those circumstances that a certain strategic port called Hong Kong was leased for 99 years. The rest, as the saying goes, is history.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Our regional bodies, like the Economic Community of West African States, and our continental body, the African Union, are making systematic efforts, despite significant handicaps, to bring peace and stability to the entire continent, and, sooner rather than later, they will succeed. We know that we must get our population educated and trained, and we are setting about that. We must address our infrastructural deficit. The traditional methods for tackling that problem will not provide the answer. We are looking for new ways to resolve it. Ghana, like many countries in Africa, is forging relations with China, so as to make arrangements that can help address part of our infrastructure deficit. That is not a uniquely Ghanaian or African phenomenon.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“We intend for Ghana to take its turn in July 2019 and present its voluntary national review during the High-level Political Forum of the Economic and Social Council. We will share our successes and challenges, as well as opportunities for new and continuing partnerships. It is important to reiterate that advocating for a world order in which all countries sign up to obey the rules does not mean that we insist on uniformity. We take pride in what distinguishes us as Africans and as Ghanaians. Fifty-five per cent of the work of the Security Council last year had to do with Africa. Unfortunately, that invariably meant peacekeeping and poverty-related issues. We no longer want to be the place that requires the intervention of peacekeepers and poverty-fighting non-governmental organizations, no matter how noble their motives.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“We believe that there is room and that there are enough resources on the planet for us all to be prosperous. But it does mean that the rules and regulations that we fashion to guide our dealings with each other have to be respected by all of us. From the environment to trading rules, we have to accept that there cannot be a different set of rules for different countries. The United Nations provides the best vehicle to date for all nations to address their aspirations and challenges. Ghana has always conveyed its belief in the United Nations and sought to contribute its share to efforts to make the Organization successful. We have embraced the Sustainable Development Goals, and we have integrated the 17 ambitious Goals into our national vision and budget.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“The first scenes of that crisis were played out on a street not far from where we are gathered, but the consequences were felt, and continue to be felt, around the world in small countries like Ghana. Some say that upheaval lies at the heart of the change in politics and outlook throughout the world. Today, as we speak, a trade war is being stoked between the two largest economies of the world. The consequences will affect those who have had no say, including small countries like Ghana. Those events provide proof, if any were needed, that ours is an interdependent world. We in Ghana, and people in other parts of the African continent, are determined to pull our countries out of poverty and into prosperity. We do not believe that a nation needs to remain poor or become poor for others to become prosperous.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“I am not referring only to the difference in the number of States in the room on that occasion or the difference in the mode of travel that brought the leaders to that meeting, as opposed to the jet planes that brought us all to New York this week. I am not referring either to the tweets by which we communicate now as opposed to the elegant handwriting that they employed in 1945. I am referring to the theme that we have chosen for this session of the General Assembly, and I wonder if it would have been comprehensible to that group in San Francisco. It is a different world in which we currently live, and we should accept the fact that the Organization must change to suit contemporary needs. Ten years ago, as the General Assembly was starting its proceedings, the world was plunged into a financial crisis.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Should it be just a club of nation States that exists to look after their own interests? What of its formation by “we the peoples”, as declared in its founding document? Does the theme that we have chosen for this session of the Assembly have any relevance in real life? And do we want to make the United Nations relevant to all people? Do we want an Organization that ensures shared responsibilities for peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies, or should it remain a place where resolutions are adopted but ignored with impunity? When some of the nations of the world gathered in San Francisco 73 years ago and signed the landmark document that created the Organization, the world was very different from what we have today.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“António Guterres, and the whole world community for the outpouring of grief and condolences that we received on the passing of Kofi Annan. We were deeply touched that so many world leaders and people took the trouble to come to Accra to bid him farewell. Kofi Annan’s passionate and profound belief in the United Nations and his certainty that a better organized and stronger United Nations would make the world a better place is an ideal that should not be allowed to die. Today we continue to be faced with the stark reality that resolutions, norms and any number of votes in the Security Council and the General Assembly mean nothing without the political will of the international community to enforce them. We continue to try to work out what the role of the Organization should be.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Ghana salutes the historic election of Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés to preside over the General Assembly at its seventy-third session as the first female Latin American President of the General Assembly, and congratulates her most heartily. Her election reinforces our common belief that gender equality must be a central feature of the global agenda. Thirteen days ago, we laid to rest in his home soil of Ghana our brother Kofi Annan, the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations and the first from sub-Saharan Africa to occupy that exalted position. On behalf of the Government and the people of Ghana, I wish to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Secretariat, led by the Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“The time is long overdue to correct the long-standing injustice that the current structure and composition of the Security Council represents for the nations of Africa. We cannot continue to preach democracy and fairness and insist on peace and justice around the world when our global Organization is not seen by the majority of its Member States as having a structure that is just and fair. Indeed, many see it as helping to perpetuate an unfair world order. The Organization provides the best vehicle for the world to manage its many and varied problems, and we would undermine its credibility and fail in our duty if we did not reform the United Nations. Let us not dare to let ourselves and future generations down. The time for reform has come.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Ghana will also continue to be active in the multilateral organizations to which we belong, such as La Francophonie, the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations, because we believe multilateral action and international cooperation are in our common interest. We want to build a Ghana that will enable our people to deal with the rest of the world on an equal playing field. I am saying nothing new when I draw attention to the urgent need to reform the Organization. While it has been talked about and scheduled for a long time, we have somehow never found the courage or the will to reform the United Nations. Ghana supports the process of United Nations reform, especially of the Security Council, as set out in the African Common Position on United Nations reform, based on the Ezulwini Consensus.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Ghana’s full engagement, through the Economic Community of West African States, in the process of West African integration, and through the African Union, in the process of African integration, remains a goal of my Government. Regional and continental integration are in Ghana’s interest, as they represent one of the surest ways of establishing the conditions for prosperity on the continent in the decades ahead. They will also help to ensure security and combat the scourges of terrorism, extremism and intolerance. The conflicts that continue to plague our continent in Libya, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mali would be more effectively resolved if the international community were to support and not undermine the efforts of our regional and continental organizations to deal with them.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“It is an easier platform on which to build sustainable relationships. In talking about sustainable relations, Africa and, indeed, Ghana are committed to ensuring that we remain a continent free of nuclear weapons. Three weeks ago, highly enriched uranium was flown out of Ghana back to China, signalling the end of the removal of all such material from the country. Our nuclear reactor has since been converted to using low-enriched fuel for power generation. A world free of nuclear weapons is in our collective interest. I wish to reaffirm my country’s commitment to maintaining friendly and cordial relations with all the countries and peoples of the world.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Sustainable Development Goal 4, which aims to ensure inclusive, equitable, quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, will be within our reach by the target date. We do not want to be a scar on anybody’s conscience. We want to build an economy that is not dependent on charity and handouts. Long and bitter experience has taught us that no matter how generous the charity, we would remain poor. We want to build a Ghana that looks to the use of its own resources and their proper management as the way to engineer social and economic growth in the country. We want to build an economy that looks past commodities in order to position our country in the global marketplace. We are not rejecting aid, but we do want to discard a mindset of dependency and living on handouts. We want to build a Ghana beyond aid.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“No longer should Ghanaians feel that they have to subject themselves to the intolerable and inhumane conditions of crossing the Sahara and drowning in the Mediterranean in hopes of making a living in Europe. We have just started the free senior high school programme that aims to guarantee secondary education for all of Ghana’s children. It will ensure that all our children will be educated at least to the secondary level, and that money, or the lack of it, will no longer mean being denied an education. That has already led to an increase of more than 90,000 children entering secondary school in the current academic year who would otherwise have dropped out at by now.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“I am here today because of elections last December, in which the people of Ghana voted out an incumbent Government and gave me and my party the mandate and honour to govern our nation for the next four years. We continue to be a beacon of democracy and stability on the continent. Our institutions of State are growing stronger and we have made more progress with our economy than at any time since independence. We are nowhere near where we want to be, but we are determined to realize our potential and make Ghana a prosperous nation. There will always be the adventurous among us Ghanaians who would want to seek challenges in different parts of the world. We wish them well, and expect that wherever they go they will be welcomed and treated with dignity. But we are working to grow our economy and open up opportunities for all our citizens.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“We believe that it is time Africa came of age and held its rightful place on the world stage. Africa will be neither a pawn nor a victim. This Africa will be honest with itself and with the world. It will shed its cloak of poverty and become prosperous. We are under no illusions about the hard work it will take to achieve our stated goals, but we are not afraid of hard work. We know that the critical ingredient in making sustainable economic progress is to ensure a stable, democratic system of Government. I believe that we are making that progress in Ghana. After years of political turmoil and accompanying economic chaos, a consensus has emerged in our Fourth Republic. We have had political stability for the past 25 years and a multiparty democracy in which regular elections are now an accepted feature of our governance.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“They bear repeating — no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, clean water and sanitation, decent work and economic growth, industry, innovation and infrastructure, reduced inequality, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, life below water, life on land, peace, justice and strong institutions, to be achieved through partnerships for the Goals. We should work hard to achieve the Goals; the world will be a much better place. Ghana was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain its freedom from colonial rule. This year marks the sixtieth anniversary of its independence, and it is auspicious that I am addressing the Assembly for the first time on the birthday of our historic first President Kwame Nkrumah — the day we have set aside to commemorate him.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“One of the most modern cities in the richest, most powerful nation on our Earth suffered the same fate as did Niamey in the Sahel region of Africa, one of the poorest parts of the world. At the height of the raging storms, one thing became clear. It did not matter if you were in the richest or poorest part of the world, the awesome power of nature was on display and we humans came across as the same sad creatures at the mercy of nature. As I watched and listened along with the rest of the world, it occurred to me that taken altogether, the SDGs are indeed a worthy set of Goals for the world.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“On 25 September 2015, when the SDGs were adopted, there were sceptics who feared that the Goals were too many and too complex to be successfully tackled, even with concerted effort. The lesson that we have learned from the experience of the Organization, however, is that once the world puts its collective mind to something, the chances are that we will get it right. Every day, something happens to bring home to us, the inhabitants of the planet, that we are in it together. There is no better or more dramatic indication of that truth than the images that have recently dominated our television screens of devastation caused by floods in Houston, Texas; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Mumbai, India; Palpa, Nepal; Dominica, Puerto Rico, Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Martin, all in the Caribbean, and Niamey, in the Niger.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“It has been 60 years since my country, Ghana, became a Member of the Organization. We joined when we became independent, some 12 years after the first meeting of the Organization in San Francisco, and Ghana has been an active participant in the United Nations ever since. I want to thank the United Nations for the honour done Ghana by my appointment by the Secretary- General as co-Chair of the advocacy group of eminent persons for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to continue in the position that was held by my predecessor as President, His Excellency Mr. John Dramani Mahama. That mark of trust in Ghana’s leaders is a matter of justifiable pride for the Ghanian people, a trust I pledge to uphold.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)