US embassy cable - 05ACCRA1085

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ACCRA 001085 
 
SIPDIS 
 
LAGOS FOR DEA CLAYTON WHEELER 
DEPT FOR INL ERENI ROESS, G/TIP SALLY NEUMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/31/2015 
TAGS: ASEC, EFIN, GH, KWMN, PGOV, PREF, PREL, PTER 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS GHANA'S MINISTER OF INTERIOR 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Mary C. Yates for reasons 1.5 d and e. 
 
1.  (C)  Summary:  On May 27, Ambassador paid a courtesy call 
on Ghana's new Minister of Interior, Papa Owusu-Ankomah.  He 
hoped for increased assistance in counter-narcotics and noted 
that the Cabinet has approved a draft trafficking in persons 
(TIP) bill.  He promised to respond to us on proposed 
amendments to Letters of Agreement on counternarcotics and 
TIP.  He had security concerns about some Sudanese seeking 
refugee status.  The draft money laundering bill is being 
reviewed by the financial community.  He acknowledged 
heightened concerns about violent (although unsophisticated) 
criminals and small arms trafficking (we offer our assessment 
of crime and arms trafficking in the comment.)  Owusu-Ankomah 
promises to be a good interlocutor on law enforcement issues. 
 End summary. 
 
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Counter-Narcotics 
----------------- 
 
2.  (SBU)  Ambassador praised our excellent bilateral 
cooperation on law enforcement, especially in 
counter-narcotics.  The Minister appreciated USG support, 
saying he hoped for continued support in counter-narcotics. 
Narcotics trafficking is a serious concern in Ghana, 
especially trafficking through Ghana for other countries.  He 
would like to get sniffer dogs and more sophisticated 
narcotics detection equipment.  The Ambassador noted our 
appreciation for the good cooperation from Narcotics Control 
Board (NCB) Executive Secretary Col. Isaac Akuoko.  The 
Minister assured Ambassador that he recognized Akuoko's 
talents in a sensitive, critical organization and would 
maintain him in charge of the NCB for at least another two 
years. 
 
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Trafficking in Persons 
---------------------- 
 
3.  (SBU)  Ambassador stressed the importance of passing an 
anti-trafficking in persons (TIP) bill (Note:  Before 
becoming Minister of Interior, Owusu-Ankomah was the Minister 
of Justice and Attorney General, and was directly involved in 
preparing the TIP law.  End note.)  Owusu-Ankomah said the 
Cabinet had just approved the draft law.  It will be gazetted 
soon and he hoped it would be submitted to parliament before 
this parliamentary session ends in late July. 
 
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Letters of Agreement 
-------------------- 
 
4.  (U)  Ambassador asked about the status of two draft 
amendments to Letters of Agreement we have submitted for his 
review, one for cooperation on counter-narcotics and one on 
trafficking in persons.  Owusu-Ankomah has studied the LOAs 
but had not realized these were two different agreements.  He 
did not see a problem with the agreements and promised to 
respond to us, although it could take at least another month. 
 
 
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Refugees 
-------- 
 
5.  (C)  The Ambassador complimented the Government of Ghana 
for its welcoming attitude toward refugees.  On the recent 
arrival of 220 Sudanese refugees, Owusu-Ankomah said 120 of 
them have been adjudicated and the remainder will take about 
one more month to process.  The GOG has to be very thorough 
with these cases "because of certain information we have" 
suggesting a potential security risk.  Most of these Sudanese 
are from the Zagawa tribe and some may have been involved in 
Chad's civil war.  While he has not yet received a 
recommendation from the Refugee Board, Owusu-Ankomah was 
inclined to err on the side of caution and refuse refugee 
status on security grounds, hoping the Chadian government 
would take them back.  On Togolese refugees, Owusu-Ankomah 
said there were no asylum seekers because of strong family 
ties in Ghana. (Note: Post's RCO reports that Togolese have, 
in fact, applied for asylum at various embassies in Accra. 
End note.) 
 
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Money Laundering Bill 
--------------------- 
 
6.  (SBU)  A draft money laundering bill is being sent for 
further review by the financial community.  According to 
Owusu-Ankomah, the Ministry of Finance and Bank of Ghana had 
not had an opportunity to review the draft legislation. 
Ghana is seriously looking at promoting offshore banking and, 
in this context, will be reviewing all of its banking laws, 
including the anti-money laundering bill.  The Ambassador 
noted that the G-8 countries clearly see the money laundering 
bill in the context of counter-terrorism efforts.  She hoped 
the GOG could separate banking from counter-terrorism issues 
in expediting the moneylaundering law.  The Minister said he 
would take this up with the Attorney General. 
 
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Crime Situation 
--------------- 
 
7.  (SBU)  The Ambassador asked about growing reports of 
violent crime in Ghana.  Owusu-Ankomah acknowledged that 
people in Ghana should be vigilant and should avoid driving 
on roads outside Accra at night.  Armed robberies are being 
committed by unsophisticated "desperados," most of whom are 
involved in or using drugs, at times using crude homemade 
weapons.  Because of increased patrolling and police actions 
in the cities, these criminals have moved into more rural 
areas.  Ghanaians have been calling for the hiring of more 
police, but the police force lacks funding to provide the 
needed lodging.  Lodging is already a problem for the 7,000 
additional police that have been hired since 2001. 
 
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Arms Trafficking 
---------------- 
 
8.  (SBU)  Owusu-Ankomah said trafficking of small arms 
through Ghana is a problem, largely because of Ghana's porous 
borders, especially in the northern regions.  The GOG is 
looking seriously at improving border management, including 
the introduction of scanners at some border posts. 
 
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Comment 
------- 
 
9.  (C)  On the Minister:  Owusu-Ankomah was much more 
engaging and pleasant with us than he had ever been as 
Attorney General.  His support for NCB's Akuoko and his 
interest in our LOAs (he pulled copies from a folder on his 
desk) are encouraging.  His cooperative attitude may reflect 
growing confidence in his position in the government and 
future political prospects (He is one of the eleven reported 
contenders to be the New Patriotic Party's presidential 
candidate in 2008.)  It may also just reflect our different 
relationship with the two ministries.  When he was Minister 
of Justice, we clashed at times on TIP, the Westel commercial 
dispute, and other matters.  We have a more positive agenda 
with the Ministry of Interior, including the promise of 
assistance through our Letters of Agreement and upcoming 
police training.  Whatever the reason, the enthusiasm and 
cooperative spirit Owusu-Ankomah showed in this meeting 
should serve us well in our engagement across the range of 
law enforcement and refugee issues. 
 
10.  (C)  On the Crime Situation:  Owusu-Ankomah's candor on 
the crime situation was also encouraging.  When the 
Ambassador recently asked the Minister of Defense about crime 
concerns, he was dismissive, saying it was safer to walk at 
night in Accra than in most American cities.  Ghana Police 
officials have given mixed signals on the crime situation but 
flatly deny an increase in the crime rate, especially 
politically sensitive crime against foreigners which they 
feel may scare away investors. In a recent meeting with 
PolChief, the new Inspector General of Police said violent 
crime was going down in many parts of Ghana, although 
criminals would always try to take advantage of opportunities 
in the wealthy new estate developments which do not have 
adequate police station protection. 
 
11.  (C)  More on Crime:  RSO reports an increase in reports 
of violent crime, especially those involving arms, in the 
past six months. Ghana Police Assistant Commissioner Kofi 
Boakye said nearly all car hijackings now involve locally 
manufactured arms. Boakye also said robbery is rampant and 
that suggesting that armed robbery is limited to certain 
areas gives the public the false notion that it can be easily 
swept out. Boakye said robbery is "a clear and present 
danger" in Ghana, where we are surrounded by wartorn 
countries." He cited robberies in broad daylight, instances 
in which robbers shut down the Accra-Kumasi Road to rob up to 
30 vehicles, and instances in which robbers hired weapons 
from the police or military as especially worrying. Boakye 
said professional armed robbers need to continue their crime 
sprees to support their construction of new buildings. Yet 
police see a new class of amateurs rising who are almost 
always under the influence of drugs or alcohol and more 
likely to fire their weapons out of fear. It makes sense to 
us that a violent crime increase may be linked to increased 
narcotics trafficking, porous borders, and the availability 
of small arms. 
 
12.  (C)  On Arms Trafficking: The Minister recently 
expressed his concern in a press event about the production 
in Ghana of 100,000 small arms annually, made by blacksmiths 
in several parts of the country. DATT, RSO, and ECON have 
seen little evidence that arms trafficking or production has 
increased to this level in Ghana.  A 2001 UNDP report 
estimated 40,000 illegal weapons in Ghana, most of which were 
unregistered, but legal types.  Many of these were locally 
produced hunting weapons.  The Minister's comments to the 
press may have had a political agenda.  They followed on the 
heels of a string of armed robberies that received widespread 
media attention and were perceived as an embarrassment to the 
ruling NPP party. 
 
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Brief Bio 
--------- 
 
13. (U)  Member of Parliament for the Sekondi constituency in 
the Western Region, Papa Owusu-Ankomah became Minister for 
the Interior in February 2005 after President Kufuor's 
re-election. Prior to this role, he had stepped up to be 
Attorney General and Minister of Justice in Kufuor's April 
2003 cabinet reshuffle. Previously, he had served as Majority 
Leader and Parliamentary Affairs Minister since October 2001. 
 Before that, he had been the Deputy Majority Leader and 
Minister for Youth and Sports.  He succeeded the Kufuor 
government,s first Minister of Youth and Sports, Mallam Isa, 
convicted of misuse of government funds in the spring of 
2001.  He first won election to Parliament in 1996, serving 
as minority spokesman for information in the previous 
Parliament. 
 
14.  (U)  Owusu-Ankomah was born on April 27, 1958 in 
Sekondi.  He is an attorney by training, who completed his 
studies at the University of Ghana.  Among other positions, 
Owusu-Ankomah worked as a lawyer for the Sekondi-Takoradi 
City Council in the 1980s, and served as Secretary to the 
Western Region Bar Association in the 1990s.  He is an ethnic 
Fanti and is married, with three children. 
 
15.  (U)  Owusu-Ankomah was generally seen as much more of a 
Parliamentary team-player than J.H. Mensah, who was renowned 
for his intellect while disliked for his arrogant and 
disdainful attitude towards his colleagues on both sides of 
the aisle.  The Minority Leader, Alban Bagbin, expressed to 
us his own good relations with Owusu-Ankomah. Owusu-Ankomah 
is among the possible NPP contenders to succeed Kufuor. 
YATES