The President of Ghana receives the Archbishop of Canterbury on her first official visit to Africa.
Written by Ziad Abdel Fattah:
Ghanaian President John received Dramani MahamaToday, the Archbishop of Canterbury, located in southern England, Sarah Mulally, arrived at the Archbishopric headquarters in Accra, at the start of her first official visit to the African continent since taking office.
President Mahama congratulated the Archbishop of Canterbury on her historic appointment as the first woman to hold this high office, stressing his country’s keenness to continue strengthening the partnership with the Anglican Church in a number of vital areas, including consolidating peace, supporting education, developing health care, promoting social justice, and advancing national development efforts.
The meeting explored ways to expand joint cooperation, within the framework of the close relations that link Ghana to the Anglican Church, in addition to the historical ties that bind it to the United Kingdom.
Expanding joint cooperation
The visit reflects the importance of the ongoing partnership between the two sides, and cooperation on issues of common interest, which contributes to supporting development and stability efforts and serving communities.
In another context, Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama called on the African Union to take a more effective stance towards the repeated attacks targeting foreigners in South Africa, warning that the escalation of anti-immigrant violence poses a direct threat to the project of integration and solidarity among African countries.
Mahama's remarks came during his meeting with the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, at the Presidential Palace in Accra, where he called for the issue to be included on the agenda of the next African Union meeting, stressing that the continuation of these attacks could no longer be ignored.
The Ghanaian president said his country had incurred significant financial burdens to evacuate its citizens from South Africa, explaining that the government had chartered three planes to bring Ghanaians home, and was prepared to operate three additional flights after nearly 900 people registered their desire to return.
He added that the government did not limit itself to evacuation operations, but also provided support and reintegration programs for returnees, stressing that what is happening threatens the efforts made by African countries to promote freedom of movement and integration among the peoples of the continent.
Mahama noted that the attacks claimed the lives of Ghanaian citizens, expressing his regret over what he described as the weak response of the authorities in South Africa, and demanding that those responsible for inciting violence be held accountable and prevented from escaping punishment.
The Ghanaian president revealed that his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, had sent an official delegation to Accra to discuss the crisis, stressing that raising this issue was not intended to harm relations between the two countries, but rather aimed at addressing the root causes of the problem and enhancing transparency in dealing with it.
