President John Dramani Mahama has hosted a mini-durbar of the Chiefs and People of the Greater Accra Region in honour of Prince Edward, The Duke of Edinburgh, at the Presidency in Accra.
Prince Edward arrived in Ghana on Sunday for a two-day visit, aimed at strengthening the United Kingdom-Ghana partnership, with a focus on education, climate-smart development, innovation, and inclusive sports.
President Mahama welcomed the Duke of Edinburgh to Ghana and lauded the long-standing Ghana-United Kingdom relations.
He said the Duke of Edinburgh was visiting Ghana at a time when the global order was changing.
“After the Second World War, we all believe that the best for this world was a multilateral global order where nations came together to discuss and find solutions to common challenges that face the world and I believe that since that time the globe has chalked many successes, especially in recent times where the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), where millions of people were pulled out of poverty by us deciding together to do common targeting,” he stated.
President Mahama said, the MDGs were later replaced with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in 2030, various countries were expected to give accounts to find out how far they had gone with the SDGs. “So we believe that multilateralism is the best order for our world, especially when you face challenges like the climate crisis.”
He also spoke about the current climate crisis, saying it affected all parts of the world, and no one country could adapt or find any resolution to the climate crisis, hence the need to tackle it multilaterally.
The President congratulated the UK for its leadership on issues of climate change and climate resilience and said, “Unfortunately, recent actions by some countries acting more in a unilateral manner than multilaterally are threatening the multilateral global order.”
President Mahama touched on the issue of the invasion of Ukraine and other conflicts all over the world; the Gaza crisis and the deaths of more than 60,000 people in Gaza, saying these were all things that did not belong to the 21st century.
He said he believed that unilateral action was not helping the global order.
The President also criticised the system of appending the rules-based trading system, where countries could wake up in the morning and just impose tariffs on anybody else, explaining that these were the systems that had been mutually natured by countries for years and “so at a time like this it becomes a coalition of the willing.”
“We must develop new partnerships that allow us to continue to work together not as individual countries but as coalitions of the willing,” he said.
President Mahama noted that there was no better country to be a partner with than the United Kingdom, which had been a historical partner to Ghana since its independence.
“As you yourself said, you’re stepping into big shoes. The Duke of Edinburgh title is a very big one across the whole world and especially in Ghana. It is with its international award that comes with scholarships for young people,” he said.
The President said The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme was a motivator of Ghana’s young people, ensuring discipline, creativity and a big ambition in the youth to achieve growth.
President Mahama said over the years Ghana’s young people had taken very keen interest in the Duke of Edinburgh Award, noting that Prince Edward was stepping into the big shoes of his late father Prince Philip who instituted it.
He said the Government of Ghana continued to partner with the Awards Committee to ensure that Ghana’s young people participated actively in it.
“So, it is going to be a high point for the Duke of Edinburgh award to receive you in Ghana, I believe that it will consolidate further the achievements that we have made through that award.” President Mahama said.
Nungua Mantse, Oboade Notse King Professor Odaifio Welentsi III, the President of the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs, bestowed on Prince Edward, a prestigious chieftaincy title, “Yehowah Da,” meaning God is Great.
Prince Edward extended greetings from King Charles to President Mahama and the People of Ghana.
He thanked the Chiefs and People of the Greater Accra Region for the honour done him.
He said the Duke of Edinburgh Award was to give young people an opportunity to develop and to find their passion, purpose and place in the world.
Prince Edward noted that Britain and Ghana had an extraordinary shared history and a shared heritage.
