Akufo Addo: Ghana’s president surprises Macron with a clear rejection of development aid

Ghana's President has told his French counterpart that the continent can thrive economically without aid from Europe or other foreign countries.

The Ghanaian President has told his French counterpart that the continent can thrive economically without aid from Europe or other foreign countries.

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Ghana’s President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has sparked off some reactions after making some hard comments in his response to a question posed by a local journalist during French President, Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Ghana.

Nana Addo said, “We can no longer continue to make policy for ourselves in our continent on the basis of whatever support that the western world can give us.”

The Ghanaian president prefaced his response, “I hope that the comments I am about to make will not offend the questioner too much and some people around here.”

“We can no longer continue to make policy for ourselves, in our country, in our region, in our continent on the basis of whatever support that the western world or France, or the European Union can give us. It will not work. It has not worked and it will not work”, he stressed.

The French leader appeared somewhat perplexed while his counterpart continued.

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“We have to get away from this mindset of dependency. This mindset about ‘what can France do for us?’ France will do whatever it wants to do for its own sake, and when those coincide with ours, ‘tant mieux’ [so much better] as the French people say.”

The Ghanaian President has been on a national campaign to ‘build a Ghana beyond aid’ and appeared to have taken his agenda to the international level.

 Videos of the interview have gone viral with one hotting over 1 million YouTube views. Many have shared diverse reactions to the words of the President.

Some see the comment has controversial while others have hailed the Ghanaian President for his boldness to hit the nail on the head.

 

 

Ghana's President has told his French counterpart that the continent can thrive economically without aid from Europe or other foreign countries. Read Full Story