Accra, May 27, GNA – The Speaker of Parliament, Mr Peter Ala Adjetey on Thursday called on development partners of African nations to proactively support the effort at ensuring that democracy succeeded on the Continent.
He said, “it was high time the matured democracies, who usually profess their hope that democracy thrives in the developing countries, put their money where their mouth is to ensure that their hope becomes a reality.” The Speaker made the call, when Mr Willy De Buck, Belgian Ambassador to Cote d’Ivoire, accredited to Ghana and Liberia, visited him in his office in Accra.
The visit was to strengthen the bilateral relations between Ghana and Belgium as a whole and between the Parliaments of the two countries in particular.
Mr Ala Adjetey said Ghana’s democracy, like that of other developing countries, was still infant and needed the support of its development partners to mature, adding that Ghana had had its own share of civil conflicts that usually disturbed the democratic process. He noted that African countries were determined to ensure that the several conflicts on the Continent would not hinder its overall progress, saying that at the continental and regional levels, efforts were underway to stem the conflicts.
Mr Ala Adjetey appealed to the Belgian Ambassador to pay attention to Ghana, saying that, “being based in Cote d’Ivoire with accreditation to Ghana, there is the likelihood for you to concentration on that country alone, but we hope that you would pay attention to our country as well and ensure that bilateral relations between our two countries is made stronger”.
He said: “In strengthening our bilateral relations between our two countries, it is important to focus on our two Parliament because democracy thrives on an effective parliament.”
Mr Buck pledged to visit Ghana regularly and to ensure that his country supported the democratic as well as economic development efforts in the country.
He said Belgium had so far provided one million euros’ worth of logistical support to the ECOWAS Mission in Cote d’Ivoire adding that his country was prepared to do more to support peacekeeping efforts in Africa.
Mr. Felix Owusu-Adjapong, Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affair and the Mr Dimitri Avraam, Honorary Consular of Belgium in Ghana, were present at the meeting.
Source: GhanaWeb
