Stella Pinewood
Akufo-Addo called on the international community to warn coup plotters that coups are never sustainable solutions amid Africa’s political, economic, and security challenges.
On Friday, 17th February 2024, the President delivered a keynote address at a UNDP side-event at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, hosted on the sidelines of the conference. He noted that “there are those who still hanker after authoritarian, personal rule, claiming Africa is underdeveloped and democracy is cumbersome and we need to get things done as soon as possible.”
According to President Akufo-Addo, “Statements condemning coups alone without corresponding action will, however, achieve almost nothing, as witnessed in recent times. This problem requires collective agreement, effective deterrence, bold action and, equally important, adequate preventive measures.”
Based on the 2019 Annual Risk of Coup Report, he stated that Africa has experienced more coups d’état than any other continent, which is not a good statistic. The president noted that Ghana became notorious for sampling every and any kind of political experiment in the early decades of the nation’s life as an independent country. This was because of political instability.
A coup d’état overthrew the one-party state of the First Republic, followed by coups d’état overturning democratic governments in the Second and Third Republics. Almost fifty-one (51) years ago, on 13th January 1972, my father, President of the 2nd Republic, was overthrown. As a result of Kutu Acheampong’s coup, his tenure ended.
As the President continued, “the instability led to the collapse of the economy, which resulted in many citizens and professionals leaving the country.” It appears we have not yet recovered from the tendency to want to leave the country in tough times.”
Ghana has enjoyed political stability under a multi-party constitution for the past thirty (30) years of our 4th Republic, one of the longest periods of stable, constitutional governance in our hitherto turbulent history.
According to the President, the separation of powers has become a reality in Ghanaian life, fostering accountable governance. It is now possible to provide efficient public services.
We have witnessed the transfer of power from one ruling political party to another through the ballot box three (3) times during this period, without threatening the state’s foundations. During this period, Ghanaians have shown a strong commitment to democratic accountability, individual liberties, and human rights. As a result, we have experienced more or less systematic economic growth, and our self-confidence has been greatly boosted,” he concluded.
Akufo-Addo noted that although domestic factors are largely responsible for unconstitutional changes, the international dimension cannot be ignored.
In all its forms and manifestations, the President said that coups in Africa must be condemned by all, since they seriously undermine the collective effort to rid the continent of instability and unconstitutional government changes, which are currently defined by frameworks such as the Lomé Declaration, the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, and other important regional and continental instruments.”
The involvement of foreign actors in fomenting unconstitutional changes, mostly in favor of repressive governments, as well as foreign economic interests and other geopolitical motives, plays a significant role. Coups in African countries are often used by foreign entities to enhance their regional ambitions, he said.
To undermine democratically elected governments’ authority and incite opposition protests, they engage in disinformation campaigns. Aside from sanctioning individuals who commit coups, the President has also begun implementing existing continental and regional instruments and protocols.
The application of these sanctions is uneven; there is no uniformity in the application of these sanctions. Military coup leaders are swiftly sanctioned, yet civilians who manipulate constitutions to remain in power, for example, go unsanctioned. Despite our legal instruments clearly prohibiting their actions, they continue to do so. In order to capture such infractions, existing frameworks need to be strengthened, he said.
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Source: Omanghana.com/SP
