US embassy cable - 05ACCRA870

C O N F I D E N T I A L  ACCRA 000870 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
PARIS FOR CHARLES NEARY 
EUCOM FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/03/2015 
TAGS: GH, IV, KDEM, PGOV, PHUM, PREL, TO 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEET GHANA'S MINISTER OF DEFENSE 
 
Classified By: POL HIEF SCOTT TICKNOR FOR REASONS 1.5 B AND D. 
 
1. (C)  Summary:  The Ambassador, PolChief and DATT mt on 
April 29 with Ghana's Minister of Dfense Kwame Addo-Kufuor 
(the President's brother), at the Minister's request.  The 
Ambassador highlighted our excellent military-to-military 
relationship.  Kufuor voiced optimism on Togo and Cote 
d'Ivoire and hoped the USG could help encourage moderation 
from former President Rawlings.  He said the GOG was 
investigating a cross-border incursion from Cote d'Ivoire as 
well as a violent incident in Kumasi which may have involved 
soldiers.  In a discussion of good governance, the Ambassador 
expressed concern about growing allegations of corruption in 
Ghana.  He agreed and sought USG assistance to the Serious 
Fraud Office.  End summary. 
 
-------- 
Togo 
-------- 
 
2.  (C)  Minister Kufuor was hopeful that, with the help of 
ECOWAS, Nigerian President Obasanjo and Ghana's President 
Kufuor, peace would return to Togo.  Ghana is working within 
the context of ECOWAS.  Togolese opposition leader Gilchrist 
Olympio cannot turn his back on France and Ghana, he said. 
The U.S. needs to pressure the opposition to work toward a 
government of national reconciliation and encourage the 
opposition to work within the reality of the election and 
prepare themselves for the next parliamentary elections, 
Kufuor said.  Ghana's ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) went 
through the same process when they lost in the rigged 1992 
election, bided their time, and eventually prevailed in the 
2000 election, he said. 
 
3.  (C)  The Ambassador noted the violence in Togo and asked 
how the GOG could excuse the trashing of electoral computers. 
 "You know Africa," Kufuor responded, stating that since 
there was no loss of life in that incident, leaders need to 
look ahead.   France has pronounced the elections free and 
fair, he said, and France is very important in shaping 
events.  Wherever France goes, the EU will go too, he said. 
Faure Gnassingbe is a "cultured young man, a refined chap" 
who can be persuaded to move Togo on a positive path. 
 
----------------- 
Cote d'Ivoire 
----------------- 
 
4.  (C)  Kufuor was "reasonably confident" about the 
prospects for peace in Cote d'Ivoire.  South African 
President Mbeki is seen as an honest broker and the 
government's decision to allow Ouattara to compete in the 
election is encouraging.  The fine points need to be worked 
out but Cote d'Ivoire may have "turned a corner", he said. 
The Ambassador noted some worrying signs which bear watching. 
 She asked about a recently publicized incident in which 
Ivoirian rebels reportedly crossed into Ghana on March 12, 
possibly with the assistance of a Ghanaian soldier working as 
a UN peacekeeper, kidnapped a chief and took him back into 
Cote d'Ivoire.  The Minister said the implicated Ghanaian 
officer had been recalled to Ghana for questioning.  Kufuor 
was clear that the GOG is not accusing him, but wants to hear 
his side of the story.  He attributed the incident to a minor 
dispute among chiefs which will be settled over time. 
Comment:  The minister treated the Ivoirian cross-border 
incursion as a serious incident that merited his personal 
attention and front page (government) press coverage.  Other 
sources have been quite dismissive of the incident.  NPP 
National Chairman Harona Esseku suggested to PolChief that 
Kufuor's handling of this incident was an embarrassment and 
diminished his stature (Kufuor flew to the Northern region 
with much fanfare, reportedly against the recommendation of 
his senior staff, for what turned out to be a minor incident 
involving a chief who Esseku described as a known arms 
smuggler.)  It could be that the minister was attempting to 
divert attention from other political issues.  End comment. 
 
------------- 
Rawlings 
------------- 
 
5.  (C)  Kufuor asked if the Embassy could help intervene 
with former President J.J. Rawlings to encourage him to tone 
down his anti-government rhetoric, which the Minister said 
was causing excessive "turbulence" in Ghanaian politics.  The 
Ambassador noted that, while she was by no means an apologist 
 
for Rawlings, she thought he had made efforts to control his 
remarks during the recent African Presidential Archives and 
Research Center (APARC) meeting in South Africa.  She 
suggested the government might choose to ignore Rawlings' 
frequent barbs.   The minister indicated that he got her 
point. 
 
---------------------------- 
Violence in Kumasi 
---------------------------- 
 
6.  (C)  The Ambassador expressed concern about media reports 
that 40 young men (reportedly including soldiers) went on a 
rampage in Kumasi on April 27, destroying property and 
injuring 50 people.  According to press reports, the men were 
avenging the mob lynching of a fellow soldier who was 
involved in a gambling problem.    Minister Kufuor thought 
the men were off-duty police officers, and commented that 
this kind of rampage used to happen during the Rawlings 
years.  He said the matter was being investigated by a High 
Court judge.  Note:  the Ministry's Chief Director Frank 
Mpare told PolChief after the meeting that he thought the men 
were soldiers.  End note. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
Good Governance and Corruption 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
7.  (C)  Kufuor asked the Ambassador how she assessed 
democratic governance in Ghana.  She responded that she was 
impressed with Ghana's governance and its December 2004 free 
and fair elections.  She noted that the MCA eligibility for 
the second year was public USG recognition of good 
governance.  However, we are hearing growing concerns from 
private sector, NGO, politician and other diplomatic contacts 
about rising corruption in Ghana.  This could become a 
significant obstacle to democracy and economic growth. 
Kufuor said he agreed fully and would talk to the President 
about this concern.  He noted that top GOG officials have to 
declare their assets publicly and are constantly under 
scrutiny.  He said ministers are especially scrutinized when 
others below them should be investigated.   Nonetheless, the 
GOG should take more serious efforts to counter corruption, 
he said, perhaps by strengthening the Serious Fraud Office 
(he hoped with USG assistance.) 
 
-------------- 
Comment 
-------------- 
 
8.  (C)   This meeting replaced a canceled meeting when the 
minister flew to the north to investigate the Ivoirian 
incursion.  He had sent his Chief of Staff to see the 
Ambassador on the eve of the canceled visit by General Wald 
to request that Wald make a strong statement about Ghana's 
democracy because of threatening remarks in the press by 
Rawlings.  In this context, in our April 29 the minister 
seemed most forward leaning on the Rawlings and governance 
issues.  As the President's brother, Minister Kufuor has 
power beyond his Defense portfolio and is in a position to 
transmit our anti-corruption message to the top levels of 
government.  His view of the Togo situation probably reflects 
the President's.  (During a May 2 meeting, PolChief heard a 
similar view on Togo from the new Inspector General of 
Police, Patrick Acheampong.)   According to NPP National 
Chairman Esseku, Minister Kufuor is lining himself up to be a 
contender for the party ticket in the 2008 national election 
(although Esseku and some other contacts do not believe he 
has a strong chance.) 
 
---------------------- 
Brief Biography 
---------------------- 
 
9.  (U)  Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor (65) has been Minister of 
Defense and a Member of Parliament from Manhyia, Ashanti 
Region since 2001.  He is the brother of President John 
Kufuor.  From April 2002-April 2003 he also served as Acting 
Interior Minister.  He has a B.A. and a medical degree from 
Cambridge University.  Starting in 1971, Kufuor worked as a 
physician for several hospitals in Ghana and the U.K. .  He 
was President of the Ghana Medical Association from 1992-1995 
and was elected to parliament in 1996 as a member of the 
ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).  He went to the United 
States on an International Visitor Program in 1997 with seven 
other MPs.  Kufuor is a lay preacher with the Anglican 
 
Church.  He is married and has three children. 
 
YATES 
 
 
NNNN