Welcome, Pelosi; help change inequality

Ghana-America relations date back to 1957 when Ghana attained independence from British rule.

Unofficially, the ties between the two countries go farther back to pre-independence times when some Ghanaians, such as Kwame Nkrumah, who later became the first President of Ghana, travelled to the US for further education.

Today, thousands of Ghanaians have been educated in the US, while many American students have also travelled to Ghana over the years to experience the rich history and culture of the country.

The two countries are also close trade partners, with trade volumes exceeding $1.2 billion. Data also shows that the US is Ghana’s largest bilateral development partner, a relationship that helped Ghana to construct the Akosombo Dam. Very recently, Ghana benefited from compacts I and II of the Millennium Challenge Account that has seen road construction and the transformation of Ghana’s power sector.

In peace-building and security, the two countries have collaborated to address international security issues, while, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Ghana has benefitted immensely from agricultural, health, educational, democratic and governance projects.

Ghana is also on record as being the first country in the world to accept Peace Corps Volunteers, many of whom are in the country currently.

It is not surprising, therefore, that in recent years Ghana has hosted very important personalities from the US, including Presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush Jnr and Barack Obama and many other American citizens who have visited for business and other purposes.

Recently, Ghana welcomed the First Lady of the US, Melania Trump, and is currently hosting the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Patricia Pelosi, and a high-powered Congressional delegation.

These are a few of the things that testify to the strong relations that exist between the two countries and it is the prayer of the Daily Graphic that the two countries will continue to build upon such strong ties for the benefit of their peoples.

As we welcome Ms Pelosi and her delegation to Ghana, we are happy to note the various programmes that they will be involved in. We are particularly happy that they have visited the Elmina and the Cape Coast castles which bear the unforgetable and painful marks of the slave trade that took millions of Africans away to an unknown land which was to change the course of Africa’s history and development for centuries.

It cannot be mere coincidence that the visit is happening at a time Ghana has designated 2019 as the Year of Return to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first slaves on American soil to till the land to make development in America possible.

The arrival of our august guests also comes at a time Ghana is hosting PANAFEST, a festival to commemorate slavery and its ills on the African continent.

We know the emotions that are evoked when one visits the Cape Coast and the Elmina castles and we can imagine how Ms Pelosi and her entourage felt after their visit. But, for sure, it will give them a clear insight into the inhuman treatment and the anguish the forebears of African Americans went through before landing on American soil.

As they go back home, we hope this experience will reignite in our guests the will to fight harder than ever before for true and total economic, political, social and racial emancipation around the world and fight against modern-day slavery of all forms at every corner of the globe.