Enhancing Ghana- Kenya ties

It is not coincidence that the President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta,  is the Special Guest of Honour as the country marks its 59th Independence Day anniversary celebrations.

Indeed, President John Dramani Mahama, delivering his address at the colourful independence parade in Accra yesterday, described him as a friend and brother.

It will be recalled that President Dramani Mahama was in Kenya recently for a state visit at the invitation of President Kenyatta. He is the first sitting President of Ghana to visit Kenya even though the two nations have been tied to each other through the close friendship between their founding fathers.

The reciprocal visits by the two leaders to each other’s countries is, therefore, expected to rekindle the historic Ghana-Kenya relations forged between Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, and Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s founding President and father of current  President (Uhuru Kenyatta), in the period leading up to the independence of both countries.

Though for decades, ties between the two nations seemed to have been forgotten, the show of affection by the two current  leaders should leave no one in doubt, as to the heights they hope to take bilateral ties between the two nations.

Indeed, President Mahama has said reinvigorated relations between Ghana and Kenya will be beneficial and has called on citizens to work hard as the governments create more conducive environments.

Diplomatic ties

Ghana currently maintains a high commission in Nairobi whilst Kenya's high commission in Nigeria is accredited to Ghana.

However, bilateral relations between Ghana and Kenya date back to the pre-colonial days when Ghana's  President Nkrumah and Kenya's President Jomo Kenyatta were united in anti-colonial crusades. When Ghana became independent in 1957 it encouraged the anti-colonial struggle in Kenya and other African nations. Kenya also achieved independence later on in 1963.

Since then Ghana and Kenyans ties have seen some remarkable improvement covering many fields of diverse endeavours.

Ghana is a reliable partner of Kenya in many areas and the two nations are cooperating particularly in ensuring global peace, trade, agriculture and energy.

Kenya and Ghana share a vision of increasing intra-Africa trade as Presidents Mahama and Kenyatta continue to encourage businessmen from the two countries to take advantage of the existing opportunities.

The two countries are also working to strengthen tourism in their respective countries.

J A Kufuor/Kofi Annan

It will be recalled that Ghanaian premier diplomat and former U.N. Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, took over mediation in a dispute over presidential elections that left over 500 dead in Kenya, after his predecessor had failed to get Kenya President Mwai Kibaki and his rival to even meet.

Ghana’s former President and chairman of the African Union, Mr John Agyekum Kufuor, also played key roles to end political violence in Kenya.

President Kufuor won an agreement from Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga to work with a panel of eminent Africans led by Kofi Annan to resolve their differences over December 2007 elections that the opposition accused Kibaki of stealing.

After Kibaki met with Kufuor, the government released a statement, saying Kibaki "assured President Kufuor that he had already initiated a process of dialogue with other Kenyan leaders."

According to a Kenyan government website, Kibaki won 4,584,721 votes or 47 per cent of the ballots cast, against Odinga's 4,352,993, or 44 per cent.

Democracy

While multiparty politics is only 15 years old in Kenya and that of Ghana is 24 years, under the fourth Republican dispensation, the two country's democracies have been bolstered by a lively and independent media and increasingly vigorous civil society.

New areas of co-operation

The cordial relations between the two countries notwithstanding, the level of economic engagement has been wanting even though a steady growth in trade has been recorded recently.

It is in line with this that President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Ghanaian counterpart, John Dramani Mahama’s signing of nine bilateral agreements recently to deepen the economic and political ties between the two nations is most welcome.

Both nations are emerging middle income countries, which are economic bulwarks on the eastern and western sides of Africa, and would be enriched by closer ties.

President Kenyatta is the chairman of the East African Community (EAC) while President Mahama the  immediate past chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas). It is expected that the two men would use their clout to push any agenda, arrangements, programmes and project that are targeted at achieving the dream of bringing improvement to the lives of African peoples.