No decision on AFCON 2015 — Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama says the government has not taken any decision yet to host the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2015).
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He stated that the government would critically weigh the options before arriving at any decision on whether to host the tournament or not.
The Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) last week wrote to Ghana to consider hosting the tournament following the decision by the original host, Morocco, to withdraw due to the Ebola scourge in parts of West Africa.
The Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Mahama Ayariga, was quoted in sections of the media as saying that Ghana had the capacity to host the tournament.
The remarks by the Sports Minister did not go down well with some civil society groups which swore to resist any move to host the competition, since it would expose the country, to the deadly Ebola disease.
Speaking to the media in London last Sunday, the President said, “ We will take the best interest of Ghanaians at heart. As President, I don’t want to see Ebola spread to my country and so if Morocco expresses concern about the Ebola disease, for which they want postponement, we are going to look at that carefully before we take a decision whether to host AFCON or not,” he said
He said even as he spoke, Morocco had not officially pulled out “and so that is not an issue”.
He said Mr Ayariga explained to him that the government would have to consult with the health authorities on the threats before taking a decision on the AFCON.
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President Mahama, however, indicated that Ghana was going ahead with its bid for the 2017 tournament because the country had the wherewithal to host it.
Panel discussion
In a related development, the President had stated that the turnaround in international response to the Ebola virus disease in parts of West Africa had raised hopes for the fight against the disease.
Initially, the response was slow but Mr Mahama said there had been an appreciable turn of events.
Contributing to a presidential panel discussion at the opening of the Global African Investment Summit in London yesterday, Mr Mahama said the initial slow response sent wrong signals about the interest of the rest of the world to contain Ebola in parts of West Africa.
The panel discussion, which set the stage for the presentation of various country projects and investment opportunities, also had contributions from the Rwandan President, Mr Paul Kagame, the Ugandan President, Mr Yoweri Museveni and the Prime Minister of Tanzania, Mr Mizengo Pinda.
ECOWAS involvement
Even as the international community responded positively, Mr Mahama said, the Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS), which he chairs, was not resting.
The sub-regional group was leading in efforts to bring relief to the affected countries and victims.
"What we (ECOWAS and international community) need to do now is to plan and co-ordinate activities so that there is no duplication of efforts," he said.
With Accra as a logistics base, the President said efforts were being made to fill in the gaps in containing the disease.
The gaps included access to resources to contain the disease, development of the public health system, and training of health workers in the affected countries
No barriers
President Mahama said it was important for the world to focus on Ebola because it was a global disease
"It’s a very serious issue because this disease knows no boundaries," he said.
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The first severe cases of Ebola were recorded in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
To date, more than 4,500 people have died of the disease in the three countries.
But now the United States of America and Spain have also recorded some cases.
President Mahama challenged investors not to be discouraged by the Ebola outbreak to ignore the opportunities that existed in Africa.
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IMF and Ghanaian economy
Answering questions from journalists about Ghana’s engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the President said the government was looking for a partnership that would restore macroeconomic stability for the country.
“That’s key because private investment wants to see that the macroeconomic environment is predictable and stable,” he said.
He attributed the current economic challenges facing the country partly to the slump in international commodity prices for cocoa and gold, which were the country’s major exports, adding that the country suffered loss of about $1.5 billion in about one-and-half years.
“For an economy like ours, this is significant revenue,” he said.
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He spoke about efforts to re-energise the energy sector and expressed the hope that it would help advance economic development.