Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan today honoured an invitation by the Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament to address the House, and used the occasion to advise government not to look to the discovery of oil in the country as the panacea to the nation’s problems.

Rather, he urged Government to invest would-be revenue from the venture to secure the future for the common good of the people.

He also re-emphasised the need for Ghana to forge ahead in her development in concert with other African countries, arguing that society’s interdependence is more relevant when viewed against the enormity of problems needing urgent solution.

“We live in an era of interdependence, and that is true everywhere in the world, but in some ways our interdependence is more relevant and more apparent in Africa. We Africans know perhaps more than most, that problems like water shortages and disease, like environmental degradation and unrest, cannot be neatly contained within national borders. We only have to look around us to understand that.

“If some others are poor, we are all the poorer. If some countries are unstable, we are all insecure. Peace may be spreading but a continent at peace, which after all we all want, remains a distant goal.”

Mr. Annan told the House that what is good for the continent, is that most Africans have come to appreciate the cost of persistent conflict, “the years of squandered development, the enormous loss of life and displacement of people and the untold suffering.”

He said most people realise that there is need to come together and face the challenges of development as one people to pacify the continent, expressing happiness that the continent has in the past decade been able to resolve more conflicts than it has ever done.

“In 1997 there were 41 wars and conflicts, today there are 31 and I’m happy to say that we on this continent have also been able to settle a few; Angola, Burundi, DRC is relatively calm, Liberia, Sierra Leone, of course we need to deal with Darfur in Sudan, but we have made considerable progress,” he told the parliamentarians, repeating earlier calls that as a continent, Africa could hardly make social and economic progress if the issues of war and conflict were not overcome.

Ghana will overcome

	Kofi Annan on his way out of Parliament, seen off by the Speaker, his deputy and other MPs.

Zooming in on Ghana, Mr. Annan said the country’s critical leadership role within the African Union has given the country an important role to play and given “an impetus to the peace process that require care and utmost commitment.”

“And the role we play as Ghana and Ghanaians is respected because of what we ourselves have achieved. We are a country at peace, and our collective human security has progressed steadily. The recent World Bank governance indicators demonstrates Ghana’s progress in every ranked category.”

He said the nation must build on its achievements to succeed, especially given the country’s youthful population.

He said after many ups and downs, recent economic indicators point to a better future, while Ghanaians look to the future with optimism.

“The recent oil discovery is one more exhibit. The experts talk of how we can now raise our bar. I have heard time and time again the same prediction being made each time a country is so discovered, as it were. And often I saw hope turning into disappointment, and discovery into discouragement, because of what many term ‘the oil curse.’ We should believe that oil is going to complement our efforts, however we should not transform it into a panacea. If we look at countries like Norway, we can learn a great deal about making oil an investment for the common future.”

Kofi Annan said in Alaska, oil is controlled by all citizens in a scheme that makes all Alaskans profit from it, however similar schemes conceived for some African states recently, were hardly implemented.

He said the fight to attain a middle income status will not be an easy one, requiring good leadership,perseverance and hard work, adding that with self belief, the nation will not toil in vain.

“Ladies and gentlemen, development is a result of transformation. No transformation could be successful or possible without self confidence. We have to believe in our capacities. I started out by saying how proud I am to accept your invitation. Let me conclude my brief remarks by quoting an African proverb the says the eyes believe themselves, the ears believe others and the heart believes the truth. Ghana needs our eyes, our ears and our hearts.”


Listen to Mr. Annan's full address elsewere on our homepage.