White House Photo: Pete Souza
President Obama’s Speech (Below) in Accra on July 11, 2009 Highlights U.S.-Africa Interdependency
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT TO THE GHANAIAN PARLIAMENT
Accra International Conference Center
Accra, Ghana
12:40 P.M. GMT
THE PRESIDENT: (Trumpet plays.) I like this. Thank you. Thank you. I
think Congress needs one of those horns. (Laughter.) That sounds pretty
good. Sounds like Louis Armstrong back there. (Laughter.)
Good afternoon, everybody. It is a great honor for me to be in Accra
and to speak to the representatives of the people of Ghana. (Applause.) I
am deeply grateful for the welcome that I’ve received, as are Michelle
and Malia and Sasha Obama. Ghana’s history is rich, the ties between our
two countries are strong, and I am proud that this is my first visit to
sub-Saharan Africa as President of the United States of America.
(Applause.)
I want to thank Madam Speaker and all the members of the House of
Representatives for hosting us today. I want to thank President Mills
for his outstanding leadership. To the former Presidents — Jerry
Rawlings, former President Kufuor — Vice President, Chief Justice —
thanks to all of you for your extraordinary hospitality and the
wonderful institutions that you’ve built here in Ghana.
I’m speaking to you at the end of a long trip. I began in Russia for a
summit between two great powers. I traveled to Italy for a meeting of
the world’s leading economies. And I’ve come here to Ghana for a simple
reason: The 21st century will be shaped by what happens not just in Rome
or Moscow or Washington, but by what happens in Accra, as well.
(Applause.)
This is the simple truth of a time when the boundaries between people
are overwhelmed by our connections. Your prosperity can expand
America’s prosperity. Your health and security can contribute to the
world’s health and security. And the strength of your democracy can help
advance human rights for people everywhere.
So I do not see the countries and peoples of Africa as a world apart;
I see Africa as a fundamental part of our interconnected world —
(applause) — as partners with America on behalf of the future we want
for all of our children. That partnership must be grounded in mutual
responsibility and mutual respect. And that is what I want to speak with
you about today.
We must start from the simple premise that Africa’s future is up to Africans. I say this knowing full well the tragic past that has sometimes haunted
this part of the world. After all, I have the blood of Africa within me,
and my family’s — (applause) — my family’s own story encompasses both
the tragedies and triumphs of the larger African story.
Some you know my grandfather was a cook for the British in Kenya, and
though he was a respected elder in his village, his employers called him
“boy” for much of his life. He was on the periphery of Kenya’s
liberation struggles, but he was still imprisoned briefly during
repressive times. In his life, colonialism wasn’t simply the creation of
unnatural borders or unfair terms of trade — it was something
experienced personally, day after day, year after year.
My father grew up herding goats in a tiny village, an impossible
distance away from the American universities where he would come to get
an education. He came of age at a moment of extraordinary promise for
Africa. The struggles of his own father’s generation were giving birth
to new nations, beginning right here in Ghana. (Applause.) Africans were
educating and asserting themselves in new ways, and history was on the
move.
But despite the progress that has been made — and there has been
considerable progress in many parts of Africa — we also know that much
of that promise has yet to be fulfilled. Countries like Kenya had a per
capita economy larger than South Korea’s when I was born. They have
badly been outpaced. Disease and conflict have ravaged parts of the
African continent.
In many places, the hope of my father’s generation gave way to
cynicism, even despair. Now, it’s easy to point fingers and to pin the
blame of these problems on others. Yes, a colonial map that made little
sense helped to breed conflict. The West has often approached Africa as a
patron or a source of resources rather than a partner. But the West is
not responsible for the destruction of the Zimbabwean economy over the
last decade, or wars in which children are enlisted as combatants. In my
father’s life, it was partly tribalism and patronage and nepotism in an
independent Kenya that for a long stretch derailed his career, and we
know that this kind of corruption is still a daily fact of life for far
too many.
Now, we know that’s also not the whole story. Here in Ghana, you show
us a face of Africa that is too often overlooked by a world that sees
only tragedy or a need for charity. The people of Ghana have worked hard
to put democracy on a firmer footing, with repeated peaceful transfers
of power even in the wake of closely contested elections. (Applause.)
And by the way, can I say that for that the minority deserves as much
credit as the majority. (Applause.) And with improved governance and an
emerging civil society, Ghana’s economy has shown impressive rates of
growth. (Applause.)
This progress may lack the drama of 20th century liberation
struggles, but make no mistake: It will ultimately be more significant.
For just as it is important to emerge from the control of other nations,
it is even more important to build one’s own nation.
So I believe that this moment is just as promising for Ghana and for
Africa as the moment when my father came of age and new nations were
being born. This is a new moment of great promise. Only this time, we’ve
learned that it will not be giants like Nkrumah and Kenyatta who will
determine Africa’s future. Instead, it will be you — the men and women
in Ghana’s parliament — (applause) — the people you represent. It will
be the young people brimming with talent and energy and hope who can
claim the future that so many in previous generations never realized.
Now, to realize that promise, we must first recognize the fundamental
truth that you have given life to in Ghana: Development depends on good
governance. (Applause.) That is the ingredient which has been missing
in far too many places, for far too long. That’s the change that can
unlock Africa’s potential. And that is a responsibility that can only be
met by Africans.
As for America and the West, our commitment must be measured by more
than just the dollars we spend. I’ve pledged substantial increases in
our foreign assistance, which is in Africa’s interests and America’s
interests. But the true sign of success is not whether we are a source
of perpetual aid that helps people scrape by — it’s whether we are
partners in building the capacity for transformational change.
(Applause.)
This mutual responsibility must be the foundation of our partnership.
And today, I’ll focus on four areas that are critical to the future of
Africa and the entire developing world: democracy, opportunity, health,
and the peaceful resolution of conflict.
First, we must support strong and sustainable democratic governments. (Applause.)
As I said in Cairo, each nation gives life to democracy in its own way,
and in line with its own traditions. But history offers a clear verdict:
Governments that respect the will of their own people, that govern by
consent and not coercion, are more prosperous, they are more stable, and
more successful than governments that do not.
This is about more than just holding elections. It’s also about what
happens between elections. (Applause.) Repression can take many forms,
and too many nations, even those that have elections, are plagued by
problems that condemn their people to poverty. No country is going to
create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves —
(applause) — or if police — if police can be bought off by drug
traffickers. (Applause.) No business wants to invest in a place where
the government skims 20 percent off the top — (applause) — or the head
of the Port Authority is corrupt. No person wants to live in a society
where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery.
(Applause.) That is not democracy, that is tyranny, even if occasionally
you sprinkle an election in there. And now is the time for that style
of governance to end. (Applause.)
In the 21st century, capable, reliable, and transparent institutions
are the key to success — strong parliaments; honest police forces;
independent judges — (applause); an independent press; a vibrant private
sector; a civil society. (Applause.) Those are the things that give
life to democracy, because that is what matters in people’s everyday
lives.
Now, time and again, Ghanaians have chosen constitutional rule over
autocracy, and shown a democratic spirit that allows the energy of your
people to break through. (Applause.) We see that in leaders who accept
defeat graciously — the fact that President Mills’ opponents were
standing beside him last night to greet me when I came off the plane
spoke volumes about Ghana — (applause); victors who resist calls to
wield power against the opposition in unfair ways. We see that spirit in
courageous journalists like Anas Aremeyaw Anas, who risked his life to
report the truth. We see it in police like Patience Quaye, who helped
prosecute the first human trafficker in Ghana. (Applause.) We see it in
the young people who are speaking up against patronage, and
participating in the political process.
Across Africa, we’ve seen countless examples of people taking control
of their destiny, and making change from the bottom up. We saw it in
Kenya, where civil society and business came together to help stop
post-election violence. We saw it in South Africa, where over
three-quarters of the country voted in the recent election — the fourth
since the end of Apartheid. We saw it in Zimbabwe, where the Election
Support Network braved brutal repression to stand up for the principle
that a person’s vote is their sacred right.
Now, make no mistake: History is on the side of these brave Africans,
not with those who use coups or change constitutions to stay in power.
(Applause.) Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.
(Applause.)
Now, America will not seek to impose any system of government on any
other nation. The essential truth of democracy is that each nation
determines its own destiny. But what America will do is increase
assistance for responsible individuals and responsible institutions,
with a focus on supporting good governance — on parliaments, which check
abuses of power and ensure that opposition voices are heard —
(applause); on the rule of law, which ensures the equal administration
of justice; on civic participation, so that young people get involved;
and on concrete solutions to corruption like forensic accounting and
automating services — (applause) — strengthening hotlines, protecting
whistle-blowers to advance transparency and accountability.
And we provide this support. I have directed my administration to give
greater attention to corruption in our human rights reports. People
everywhere should have the right to start a business or get an education
without paying a bribe. (Applause.) We have a responsibility to support
those who act responsibly and to isolate those who don’t, and that is
exactly what America will do.
Now, this leads directly to our second area of partnership: supporting development that provides opportunity for more people.
With better governance, I have no doubt that Africa holds the promise
of a broader base of prosperity. Witness the extraordinary success of
Africans in my country, America. They’re doing very well. So they’ve got
the talent, they’ve got the entrepreneurial spirit. The question is,
how do we make sure that they’re succeeding here in their home
countries? The continent is rich in natural resources. And from cell
phone entrepreneurs to small farmers, Africans have shown the capacity
and commitment to create their own opportunities. But old habits must
also be broken. Dependence on commodities — or a single export — has a
tendency to concentrate wealth in the hands of the few, and leaves
people too vulnerable to downturns.
So in Ghana, for instance, oil brings great opportunities, and you
have been very responsible in preparing for new revenue. But as so many
Ghanaians know, oil cannot simply become the new cocoa. From South Korea
to Singapore, history shows that countries thrive when they invest in
their people and in their infrastructure — (applause); when they promote
multiple export industries, develop a skilled workforce, and create
space for small and medium-sized businesses that create jobs.
As Africans reach for this promise, America will be more responsible
in extending our hand. By cutting costs that go to Western consultants
and administration, we want to put more resources in the hands of those
who need it, while training people to do more for themselves.
(Applause.)
That’s why our $3.5 billion food security initiative is focused on
new methods and technologies for farmers — not simply sending American
producers or goods to Africa. Aid is not an end in itself. The purpose
of foreign assistance must be creating the conditions where it’s no
longer needed. I want to see Ghanaians not only self-sufficient in food,
I want to see you exporting food to other countries and earning money.
You can do that. (Applause.)
Now, America can also do more to promote trade and investment.
Wealthy nations must open our doors to goods and services from Africa in
a meaningful way. That will be a commitment of my administration. And
where there is good governance, we can broaden prosperity through
public-private partnerships that invest in better roads and electricity;
capacity-building that trains people to grow a business; financial
services that reach not just the cities but also the poor and rural
areas. This is also in our own interests — for if people are lifted out
of poverty and wealth is created in Africa, guess what? New markets will
open up for our own goods. So it’s good for both.
One area that holds out both undeniable peril and extraordinary
promise is energy. Africa gives off less greenhouse gas than any other
part of the world, but it is the most threatened by climate change. A
warming planet will spread disease, shrink water resources, and deplete
crops, creating conditions that produce more famine and more conflict.
All of us — particularly the developed world — have a responsibility to
slow these trends — through mitigation, and by changing the way that we
use energy. But we can also work with Africans to turn this crisis into
opportunity.
Together, we can partner on behalf of our planet and prosperity, and
help countries increase access to power while skipping — leapfrogging
the dirtier phase of development. Think about it: Across Africa, there
is bountiful wind and solar power; geothermal energy and biofuels. From
the Rift Valley to the North African deserts; from the Western coasts to
South Africa’s crops — Africa’s boundless natural gifts can generate
its own power, while exporting profitable, clean energy abroad.
These steps are about more than growth numbers on a balance sheet.
They’re about whether a young person with an education can get a job
that supports a family; a farmer can transfer their goods to market; an
entrepreneur with a good idea can start a business. It’s about the
dignity of work; it’s about the opportunity that must exist for Africans
in the 21st century.
Just as governance is vital to opportunity, it’s also critical to the
third area I want to talk about: strengthening public health.
In recent years, enormous progress has been made in parts of Africa.
Far more people are living productively with HIV/AIDS, and getting the
drugs they need. I just saw a wonderful clinic and hospital that is
focused particularly on maternal health. But too many still die from
diseases that shouldn’t kill them. When children are being killed
because of a mosquito bite, and mothers are dying in childbirth, then we
know that more progress must be made.
Yet because of incentives — often provided by donor nations — many
African doctors and nurses go overseas, or work for programs that focus
on a single disease. And this creates gaps in primary care and basic
prevention. Meanwhile, individual Africans also have to make responsible
choices that prevent the spread of disease, while promoting public
health in their communities and countries.
So across Africa, we see examples of people tackling these problems.
In Nigeria, an Interfaith effort of Christians and Muslims has set an
example of cooperation to confront malaria. Here in Ghana and across
Africa, we see innovative ideas for filling gaps in care — for instance,
through E-Health initiatives that allow doctors in big cities to
support those in small towns.
America will support these efforts through a comprehensive, global
health strategy, because in the 21st century, we are called to act by
our conscience but also by our common interest, because when a child
dies of a preventable disease in Accra, that diminishes us everywhere.
And when disease goes unchecked in any corner of the world, we know that
it can spread across oceans and continents.
And that’s why my administration has committed $63 billion to meet
these challenges — $63 billion. (Applause.) Building on the strong
efforts of President Bush, we will carry forward the fight against
HIV/AIDS. We will pursue the goal of ending deaths from malaria and
tuberculosis, and we will work to eradicate polio. (Applause.) We will
fight — we will fight neglected tropical disease. And we won’t confront
illnesses in isolation — we will invest in public health systems that
promote wellness and focus on the health of mothers and children.
(Applause.)
Now, as we partner on behalf of a healthier future, we must also stop
the destruction that comes not from illness, but from human beings —
and so the final area that I will address is conflict.
Let me be clear: Africa is not the crude caricature of a continent at
perpetual war. But if we are honest, for far too many Africans, conflict
is a part of life, as constant as the sun. There are wars over land and
wars over resources. And it is still far too easy for those without
conscience to manipulate whole communities into fighting among faiths
and tribes.
These conflicts are a millstone around Africa’s neck. Now, we all
have many identities — of tribe and ethnicity; of religion and
nationality. But defining oneself in opposition to someone who belongs
to a different tribe, or who worships a different prophet, has no place
in the 21st century. (Applause.) Africa’s diversity should be a source
of strength, not a cause for division. We are all God’s children. We all
share common aspirations — to live in peace and security; to access
education and opportunity; to love our families and our communities and
our faith. That is our common humanity.
That is why we must stand up to inhumanity in our midst. It is never
justified — never justifiable to target innocents in the name of
ideology. (Applause.) It is the death sentence of a society to force
children to kill in wars. It is the ultimate mark of criminality and
cowardice to condemn women to relentless and systemic rape. We must bear
witness to the value of every child in Darfur and the dignity of every
woman in the Congo. No faith or culture should condone the outrages
against them. And all of us must strive for the peace and security
necessary for progress.
Africans are standing up for this future. Here, too, in Ghana we are
seeing you help point the way forward. Ghanaians should take pride in
your contributions to peacekeeping from Congo to Liberia to Lebanon —
(applause) — and your efforts to resist the scourge of the drug trade.
(Applause.) We welcome the steps that are being taken by organizations
like the African Union and ECOWAS to better resolve conflicts, to keep
the peace, and support those in need. And we encourage the vision of a
strong, regional security architecture that can bring effective,
transnational forces to bear when needed.
America has a responsibility to work with you as a partner to advance
this vision, not just with words, but with support that strengthens
African capacity. When there’s a genocide in Darfur or terrorists in
Somalia, these are not simply African problems — they are global
security challenges, and they demand a global response.
And that’s why we stand ready to partner through diplomacy and
technical assistance and logistical support, and we will stand behind
efforts to hold war criminals accountable. And let me be clear: Our
Africa Command is focused not on establishing a foothold in the
continent, but on confronting these common challenges to advance the
security of America, Africa, and the world. (Applause.)
In Moscow, I spoke of the need for an international system where the
universal rights of human beings are respected, and violations of those
rights are opposed. And that must include a commitment to support those
who resolve conflicts peacefully, to sanction and stop those who don’t,
and to help those who have suffered. But ultimately, it will be vibrant
democracies like Botswana and Ghana which roll back the causes of
conflict and advance the frontiers of peace and prosperity.
As I said earlier, Africa’s future is up to Africans. The people of
Africa are ready to claim that future. And in my country, African
Americans — including so many recent immigrants — have thrived in every
sector of society. We’ve done so despite a difficult past, and we’ve
drawn strength from our African heritage. With strong institutions and a
strong will, I know that Africans can live their dreams in Nairobi and
Lagos, Kigali, Kinshasa, Harare, and right here in Accra. (Applause.)
You know, 52 years ago, the eyes of the world were on Ghana. And a
young preacher named Martin Luther King traveled here, to Accra, to
watch the Union Jack come down and the Ghanaian flag go up. This was
before the march on Washington or the success of the civil rights
movement in my country. Dr. King was asked how he felt while watching
the birth of a nation. And he said: “It renews my conviction in the
ultimate triumph of justice.”
Now that triumph must be won once more, and it must be won by you.
(Applause.) And I am particularly speaking to the young people all
across Africa and right here in Ghana. In places like Ghana, young
people make up over half of the population.
And here is what you must know: The world will be what you make of
it. You have the power to hold your leaders accountable, and to build
institutions that serve the people. You can serve in your communities,
and harness your energy and education to create new wealth and build new
connections to the world. You can conquer disease, and end conflicts,
and make change from the bottom up. You can do that. Yes you can —
(applause) — because in this moment, history is on the move.
But these things can only be done if all of you take responsibility
for your future. And it won’t be easy. It will take time and effort.
There will be suffering and setbacks. But I can promise you this:
America will be with you every step of the way — as a partner, as a
friend. (Applause.) Opportunity won’t come from any other place, though.
It must come from the decisions that all of you make, the things that
you do, the hope that you hold in your heart.
Ghana, freedom is your inheritance. Now, it is your responsibility to
build upon freedom’s foundation. And if you do, we will look back years
from now to places like Accra and say this was the time when the
promise was realized; this was the moment when prosperity was forged,
when pain was overcome, and a new era of progress began. This can be the
time when we witness the triumph of justice once more. Yes we can.
Thank you very much. God bless you. Thank you. (Applause.)
END 1:10 P.M. GMT
