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Transcript/ScriptGHANA FORMER PRESIDENT SECURITY
HEADLINE: Poor Governance, Weak Regional Blocs Feeding Africa’s Coups says Former Ghana President
TEASER:
PUBLISHED AT: Tuesday, 02/15/2022 at 4:15pm
BYLINE: Kent Mensah
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Accra, Ghana
VIDEOGRAPHER: Senanu Tord
VIDEO EDITOR:
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Schearf, BR
VIDEO SOURCE(S): VOA Original
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO
TRT: 3:43
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
UPDATE:))
((INTRO))
Africa has seen a rise in military coups in the past year with takeovers in Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, Mali, and Sudan and a failed coup attempt reported in Guinea Bissau. In an exclusive interview for VOA, former Ghanian President, and former African Union chairperson, John Kufuor, says the coups are linked to factors that include poor governance. Kufor spoke to Kent Mensah in Accra, Ghana.
((MENSAH))
"What do you think could be the underlying factors or root cause for some of these coups?"
((John Kufuor, Former Ghana President (English, ??))
“In some instances where coups have happened, the governments have tended to lapse into misgovernance, either the government didn’t take care of their security arrangements, or they also didn’t show appreciation of the geopolitics of the neighborhood.”
((MENSAH))
“Do you think that regional blocs such as ECOWAS, AU, SADC have not been proactive in preventing some of these coups?”
((John Kufuor, Former Ghana President (English, 56 secs))
“If these people think your banning wouldn’t bite, and the sanctions won’t bite them economically and politically, they just carry on in spite of the declaration of the regional
groupings. For this, the groupings should begin to really think seriously as to how to give the constitutional provisions - the bite. So that when they say ‘don’t do it’ and you do it, they can get you and so you know that perhaps it’s not profitable for you to try it.”
((MENSAH))
“You’ve suffered two coups; at a point you were in government and at a point as a parliamentarian. And then there was a coup d'état at a point during your 83 years, while in government. A lot of our generations have not really felt what it’s like to live under a military government. Could you share with us how it felt?”
((John Kufuor, Former Ghana President (English, 28 secs))
“It’s not an experience I would recommend to any generation. So, I wouldn’t advise anybody to hail a coup d'état. It comes from faceless people you don’t know, who haven’t given anything to keep for you or to manage for you, and they may not even be competent enough to do anything. And if they come, they use an opportunity and come to impose themselves on you and destroy your life. Is this what anybody should want?”
((MENSAH))
Our current leaders, what kind of advice would you give them in dealing with some these security concerns and also coup d'état on the continent?”
((John Kufuor, Former Ghana President (English, ??))
“Please try to live by your oath to the people. It’s the underpinning of good governance. If you think the period is too short, use constitutional means to convince the people to say amend constitution or reform constitution.... but please don’t play smart and if when you should be stepping down, you say the people have decided and there is a third term, then you do that. Then in a way you push people into feeling that they too can take things into their own hands to do what they mustn’t do.”
((END))
NewsML Media TopicsConflict, War and Peace, Politics, Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Accra, Ghana
Embargo DateFebruary 15, 2022 18:01 EST
BylineKent Mensah
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
