Four C'ttees to handle Prez Obama's visit

THE government has announced the formation of four committees with the mandate to make the pending visit of US President Barrack Obama to the country a rare moment in history.
The committees, which are to handle security, publicity, protocol and culture, comprise Ghanaian officials and their United States counterparts who have already begun feverish preparations towards the July 10 - 11 visit, the third by a sitting President of the United States.
Briefing the Daily Graphic in Accra, the Information Minister, Mrs Zita Okaikoi, who did not give details of the preparations for security reasons, described the visit as a recognition of the country’s ability to maintain its stability, democratic credentials and peaceful nature after a closely contested general election.
She said the government would make every effort to make the visit a momentous one and, therefore, appealed to Ghanaians to contribute their quota towards making it an incident-free one by the President of the world’s most powerful country.
Mrs Okaikoi said Ghanaians should bear in mind the enormous economic and political benefits that would accrue from the visit and urged stakeholders, especially those in the tourism industry, to put their house in order to benefit from the event.
“The eyes of the entire world will focus on Ghana; hundreds of international media organisations will shift their attention on Ghana for the two days and Ghanaians must take good advantage of the opportunity and tell our best story and display our rich culture and hospitality to the entire world,” the minister said.
She said the government had been overwhelmed by requests from government officials, journalists and ordinary people from other African countries to visit Ghana during the two-day visit by President Obama.
She said for President Obama to decide to pay an official visit to Ghana, his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa, meant that he held the country in high esteem and urged Ghanaians to cherish the country’s soaring image in the international community and work towards its enhancement.
She further appealed to Ghanaians to sustain the clean-up exercises that were initiated at the beginning of the Mills administration to ensure that the country’s cities and towns were cleaned not only for President Obama’s visit but also for the period after.
Mrs Okaikoi made a passionate appeal to the people of the historic town of Cape Coast to prepare for the visit of President Obama to the castle there where he would experience the inhuman treatment meted out to slaves who were shipped to the Americas during the slave trade.
According to a programme line up, the American leader is expected to pay a courtesy call on the Oguaa Omanhen in Cape Coast and afterwards tour the Cape Coast Castle before he returns to Accra for an encounter with people from all walks of life at the Independence Square.
He is likely to make a major policy statement during the encounter at the square.
President Obama is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with President J.E.A. Mills at the Osu Castle on a wide range of issues, including economic, security and governance.