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President Kufuor arrives from CHOGM
Accra, Nov. 26, Ghanadot/GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor
returned to Accra on Monday after attending the Commonwealth
Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kampala, Uganda.
He was accompanied by some senior government officials.
During a press briefing, Mr. Andrew Awuni, presidential
spokesperson, said out of the 51 Commonwealth member states
that attended the summit, 36 were represented by their heads
of state.
He said Ghana was elected unto the nine-member Commonwealth
Ministerial Action Group, the decision-making body of the
group, and pointed out that the election was in recognition
of Ghana's good governance practices.
By the election, Ghana takes the place of Tanzania and would
serve for two years.
Mr. Awuni said one of the main decisions taken at the summit
was the suspension of Pakistan from the Commonwealth as a
result of its failure to go by the body’s recommendations on
good governance practices.
He said the heads of government agreed to adhere to good
governance practices such as separation of powers, rule of
law and democratic principles.
Mr Awuni said the summit also served as a peer review
mechanism where members assessed each other's performance in
governance.
He said African Heads of State also vowed to fight human
trafficking, adding that member countries were also reviewed
in terms of their achievement of the millennium development
goals.
He said child mortality was also a major topic of discussion
at the summit.
The summit which was presided over by Queen Elizabeth II,
head of the Commonwealth of Nations, elected Dr Kamalesh
Sharma, an Indian career diplomat, as the new Secretary
General. Dr Sharma takes over
from Mr Don McKinnon.
At the airport to meet the president was Vice President
Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Ministers of State,
the Chief of the Defence Staff, Lt. Gen. J.B. Danquah, and
other senior military and police personnel.
GNA
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