Thursday, March 28, 2024

Ghana has demonstrated that Democracy is a way of life worth emulating by other African countries-President Lungu

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President Edgar Lungu chatting with Gabonese President Ali Bongo during the inauguration ceremony of Ghana President Nana Addo Akurfo at Black Star Stadium in Ghana yesterday Picture by SUNDAY BWALYA
President Edgar Lungu chatting with Gabonese President Ali Bongo during the inauguration ceremony of Ghana President Nana Addo Akurfo at Black Star Stadium in Ghana yesterday Picture by SUNDAY BWALYA

President Edgar Lungu says Ghana is a testament that Democracy in Africa is alive and is a well entrenched system of governance for African countries to embrace.

President Lungu said Ghana has demonstrated to the world that Democracy in Africa is an inherent way of life worth emulating by other African countries.

He said Ghana’s veritable democracy of successful elections and peaceful transition of power is a mark worth emulating by other African countries.

He said this in Ghana where he joined several African and World leaders and dignitaries attending the inauguration ceremony of Nana Addo as President of Ghana at the Black star square.

Among the countries represented were Kenya, Algeria, Benin, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea , Chad and, Nigeria among others.

The Black star square in the Ghanaian capital city was turned into Parliament to facilitate the inauguration of Nana Addo as President of Ghana .

The inauguration also served as the first meeting of the first session of the seventh parliament of the fourth republic of Ghana.

Ghana which gained independence in 1957 from Britain has fallen to military regimes on three occasions has strikingly returned to democracy on four occasions.

The Black star square was besieged by a sea of people clad in red, white and blue, the colours of Mr Addo’s New Patriotic Party under whose ticket he won the December 6, 2016 election after his third attempt having failed in 2008 and 2012.

Ghanaians blazing with vuvuzelas and traditional drums thronged the streets of Accra and into the Black star square to witness the inauguration of Ghana’s new head of state.

Ghanaian Chief Justice Georgina Wood swore in Mr Addo and his Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia at 11:05 hrs local time amid a twenty one gun salute and salutations from visiting heads of State.

Delivering his inauguration speech , a spiritually moved President Addo declared to Ghanaians that “this is the day the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it”.

Mr Addo pledged to actualize his campaign promises of social economic transformation through job and wealth creation.

“A new door has opened in Ghana to change things and advance the country for the benefit of all citizens” said Mr Addo.

He assured that he will work round the clock to restore public confidence in public institutions.

Mr Addo reiterated that the economy will remain led by the private sector in order to steer Ghana to the next level in the global village .

President Addo urged Ghanaians to put the country first and believe in themselves that they can do anything to advance Ghana’s contemporary development agenda.

“I will not let you down the people of Ghana ” he said.

Mr Addo paid tribute to his predecessor John Mahama for serving Ghana with distinguished leadership.

Speaking on behalf of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Liberian President Ellen Sirleaf praised Ghana’s democracy and called for enhanced regional integration .

Ivorian President Allassane Quattara said there’s need for Africa to rid itself of undemocratic tendencies and work towards the betterment of its citizenry.

From (second right ) is President Edgar Lungu, Togolise President Faire Gnassingbe , Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari , Ivorian President Alasain Wattara and Liberian President Johnson Sirleaf following the proceedings of the inauguration ceremony of President Nana Addo Kurfo at Black Star Stadium in Ghana yesterday .Picture by SUNDAY BWALYA
From (second right ) is President Edgar Lungu, Togolise President Faire Gnassingbe , Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari , Ivorian President Alasain Wattara and Liberian President Johnson Sirleaf following the proceedings of the inauguration ceremony of President Nana Addo Kurfo at Black Star Stadium in Ghana yesterday .Picture by SUNDAY BWALYA

Meanwhile, President Edgar Lungu has confered with newly sworn in Ghanaian President Nana Akufo Addo and have pledged to strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries.

President Lungu has since invited President Nana Addo for a state visit to Zambia.

ZANIS reports that Foreign affairs minister Harry Kalaba disclosed that the two leaders pledged to also improve trade between the two former British colonies.

Mr Kalaba explained that President Lungu attended the inauguration of Mr Nana Addo as President of Ghana in order to give credence to the pursuit of democratic tenants across the continent and the globe.

“Zambia and Ghana share similarities. .Ghana is a champion of democracy and so is Zambia. President Lungu came to give credence to Ghana’s democracy because he believes in free and fair elections ” said Kalaba.

The minister said the two heads of state were not impressed with the trade volumes between the two countries and have pledged to increase trade and investment between them.

Mr Kalaba said the two Presidents have tasked him and his Ghanaian counterpart to ensure that the Joint Permanent Commission on trade which has been pending for a long time is signed to improve commerce between the two countries.

Mr Kalaba said Zambia wants to learn best economic practices from Ghana especially that her economy is already diversified as opposed to Zambia which is trying to do so now.

Mr Kalaba also said President Lungu has invited President Nana Akufo Addo to visit Zambia later in the year in fulfillment of the visit that was supposed to be undertaken by his predecessor but was put off due to the death of President Micheal Sata.

Mr Kalaba said President Addo has since accepted the invitation and that dates for the state visit will be communicated later.

Mr Kalaba has further announced that President Brahim Ghali of the Sahwari Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) will visit Zambia from Monday January 9 to Wednesday January 11, 2017.

Mr Kalaba said President Ghali will hold talks with President Lungu to brief him about the developments taking place in Sahwari republic.

Mr Kalaba explained that President Ghali wants to brief and update President Lungu who us Chairperson of the Security Council of the African Union (AU).

The Minister said President Lungu is expected to brief the AU on developments in the Sahwari at the forthcoming AU summit later this January.

Mr Kalaba said Zambia is concerned about the welfare of the people of Sahwari and will use the visit to continue to explore areas of cooperation between the two countries.

“Zambia has always played a pivotal role in ensuring peace on the continent. President Lungu wants to know what is happening in Sahwari, he wants to see peaceful coexistence ” said Kalaba.

49 COMMENTS

    • The president is out of sync and out of his mind if he doesn’t know Ghana presidential elections had its own glitches.

      They took longer that would have been to announce the election and the pressing to concede.
      Our president is either ignorant or has people around him who are.

      He also thinks a peaceful election implies good democracy.

      Someone needs explaining to him the tenets of democracy. Including press, judiciary and the rest of it.

      History in zambia suggests there will be a presidential bye election by 2021.

      Not wishing that – but that’s what history suggests.

      Thanks

      BB2014

    • Visionless Lungu is just ashamed that he failed to follow the same roof after miserably losing the election to UPND.
      Let the visionless one come back gallivanting & attend to the economic crisis, army worms & his corrupt elements. There after, blind Dagama to tame his violent bandits of PF & let the presidential petition be heard fairly. The blind Edgar must stop wasting time & resources, the petition should be heard without confused PF bandits circumventing the constitution & rule of law.
      Thanks to Mali for refusing entry of Dagama into their democratic country.
      Say NO to visionless Lungu’s 3rd term bid to his dictatorial tendencies!
      The Skeleton Key
      ~206~
      By the way, where is papa corruption RB & how much is mealie meal today PF visionless bandits of Lungu?

    • ECL has managed to fool money loving basic Christians, especially Pentecostals, in Zambia but not real and genuine ones.

    • Imwe ba kwindi why are decent comments awaiting moderation when NEZ’s useless postings full of insults are coming out? Be serious.

    • LUSAKA TIMES WHY HAVE YOU FAILED TO ANNOUNCE THE BEST BLOGGER. WHAT ARE YOU SCARED OF. WE DEMAND YOU RELEASE THE RESULTS. WHY DID YOU WASTE PEOPLE TIME VOTING IF YOU WANTED A PARTICULAR PERSON TO WIN. LET ME WARN YOU THAT THE LONGER YOU TAKE TO ANNOUNCE THE MORE CURSES YOU ARE BRINGING ON YOUR FAMILIES AND SHORTENING THEIR LIVES. DON’T SAY I DIDN’T WARN YOU. Ghana is doing well. The issue is the failure of democracy in Zambia under this rat Lungu. The teethy rodent Lungu stole the vote and is now suppressing free speech so he should be last one to talk about democracy

    • Ghana has has just thrown themselves into the pits of hell, how would they vote for a party with name PATRIOTIC, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe have ruling parties going by the name Patriotic,kagame, chagwa, mugabe. Ghanaians have just said goodbye to democracy, it fun this same new Ghanaian president just copied bill Clinton’s 1993 inaugural speech.

    • Edward & Kalaba’s double tobela diplomacy at best, they first court the king of Morocco when he fails to show up they go to Ghali.
      Ghali should be careful with these cons they just might be talking to the spanish to have him arrested when he arrives in Lusaka.
      As for democracy we were supposed to be a leader in africa until Edward rap-ed our democracy.

  1. Many presidents and representatives returned to their home countries immediately after the ceremony, despite arriving on the same day of the ceremony. But there is one strange president who went a day before the ceremony and will go back to his country a day after the ceremony. I have just forgotten his country, I hear he had nothing to do in his country that is why he went much earlier and returning much later. From the SADCC region, he was the only one.

  2. And since 2011 PF has shown that endless by elections ,cadre violence,party infighting, witch hunts and reckless economic management is not worth emulating.

  3. This thief that stole an election is now talking about democracy?

    Either he is just a clueless clown or he is one of the biggest liars and hypocrites Zambia has ever seen.

  4. Kalaba is lying. Lungu was not given a platform to make a speech or have bilateral discussions with President Akufo Addo. In fact soon after his inaguration Mr Akufo Addo attended a Summit on Gambia Election Dispute. At the Ecowas Summit it was resolved that mediation to resolve the dispute led by President Buhari of Nigeria should continue for now. The Ecowas Summit recognised and respected President Yahya Jammeh of Gambia’s Constitutional Right to petition the Election Results in the Gambian Supreme Court (GSC). On this basis the GSC is meeting on Tuesday,10th January 2017 to hear the Petition and make a Ruling. Ecowas anxiously awaits the decision of GSC as it will choose between Peace and War. Meantime the Ecowas Military Contingent is on standby to ensure that Jammeh hands over…

  5. Lungu is a very incompetent president. There are several problems at home. The attendance of this inauguration should have been delegated to an ambassador. He is abusing tax payers money and his position. All he does is travel out of the country for holidays. He takes with him an entourage of over 50 people! That money he has wasted can be put to better use. For example building a plant that can manufacture pesticides and fertilizer so that Zambian is not dependent on India and China to get basics.

  6. Given Gabon is where they shot the plane carrying Zambian footballers, how does a Zambian president get so excited with a Gabonese leader? What a shame!

  7. The efforts by ECOWAS are commendable. They have mobilised a military force to deal with the Gambian Election Dispute. They have also formed a Mediation Team for Gambia. ECOWAS has recognized and respected President Jammeh’s Constitutional Right to be heard in Court. What is SADC doing about Election Disputes in Zambia and DRC? What is Lungu thinking about his own Election Dispute and the Petition? More questions than answers.

  8. But you why are you bringing dictatorship in Zambia? It is a gospel truth that you lost elections to H.H. but you didn’t want to concede defeat. Nyini iwe!

  9. LUSAKA TIMES WHY HAVE YOU FAILED TO ANNOUNCE THE BEST BLOGGER. WHAT ARE YOU SCARED OF. WE DEMAND YOU RELEASE THE RESULTS. WHY DID YOU WASTE PEOPLE TIME VOTING IF YOU WANTED A PARTICULAR PERSON TO WIN. LET ME WARN YOU THAT THE LONGER YOU TAKE TO ANNOUNCE THE MORE CURSES YOU ARE BRINGING ON YOUR FAMILIES AND SHORTENING THEIR LIVES. DON’T SAY I DIDN’T WARN YOU. Kikiki this dog Lungu who stole votes killed opposition members and has now shutdown independent media wants to lecture Ghana on democracy. What a clown

  10. True democracy indeed and not the circus that we saw in Zambia. He could not even allow the opposition to properly petition the election but muzzled the whole process and bribed the con court Judges who in turn turned our election process into a laughing stock. Just look at the number of attendees from respectable countries and not the two shameless dictators that graced his. Already his talking about 2021, one wonders what this leader really stands for. We lost a leader in Mwanawasa and not this despicable lost of direction masquerade of leadership.

  11. That’s HYPOCRISY from LUNGU an Election thief & 3rd-term proponent. The air that comes out of LUNGU’s mouth is the same as the air that comes out of his behind.
    1. ONE SIDE – I’m a Christian : REALITY – I’m a drunkard, a tribalist
    2. ONE SIDE – I believe a Democracy : REALITY – I’m an Election fraudster, 3rd term proponent, Judiciary briber
    3. ONE SIDE – I’m a fighter for corruption: REALITY – I’m in the pocket of Chinese. I’ve made K23million from Tender kickbacks
    4. ONE SIDE – I’m humble : REALITY – I thrive on violent cadres, police murder (Chibulo Mapenzi – no investigation like it was an animal who was killed) brutality, cancellation of opposition rallies & intimidation of any opposition.
    5. ONE SIDE – I believe in free & fair elections : REALITY – I close TV radio…

    • CONT’D…
      5. ONE SIDE – I believe in free & fair elections : REALITY – I close TV radio stations hosting opposition leaders, I black-out opposition from DeadNBC, I block opposition campaigns when i’m in any province.
      6. ONE SIDE – I’m the solution for Zambia’s economic woes including load-shedding: REALITY – I’m VISIONLESS. We don’t need to construct new power stations. I’ll actually spend $480Million importing electricity from RSA instead of using the same money construct our own power station thereby creating jobs & adding to GDP

  12. This Lazy man is truly shameless..he thinks foreigners read Times of Zambia and watch ZNBC.The bum is a hypocrite for sure just like all that praying yet they are plundering with impunity.

  13. President Lungu you need to return to Zambia and cut short your holiday. Are you the only Zambian national who is not aware of several of the problems at home. There is corruption and incompetence in the majority of the ministers. Senior nursing officers at UTH are being replaced by diploma nurses with no leadership skills. These diploma nurses are relatives of people with high positions in the MOH. The nursing officers( with masters or PHD’s) are being forced out because the have raised concerns about expired drugs, damaged dialysis machines, expired chemotherapy drugs etc. The number of deaths at UTH ar increased since Dr Kasonde was replaced.

  14. It is common knowledge at UTH that if you are cancer you will not survive if you are treated at UTH. The chemotherapy drugs are expired. Donor’s are witholding funds because a corrupt administration has replaced one that had integrity at the ministry of health. Kasonde and his late counterpart secured millions from donors. They had commissioned and paid for many hospitals to be built. Now the building has stopped and the funds have dissapered.

  15. What can lawless Chakolwa Lungu tell us about Democracy? Nothing. The “Democacy” that Lungu knows is to maim, kill ,persecute, imprison etc his opponents. After stealing 2016 Elections and clinging on to power Lungu now talks of Democracy. What a joke and hypocrite this man is. Whereever Lungu went at the Inauguration Ceremony in Ghana people were laughing and ridiculing Chakolwa Lungu. Illegitimate Lungu has no moral authority to talk about Democracy. Visionless and violent Lungu did not learn anything from Ghana. U don’t go to a Celebration Party where u know people don’t like u for your deeds. There were many Opposition Leaders from Zimbabwe,Kenya etc who attended the Ceremony and Lungu was a misfit. Naturally President Akufo Addo having been in Opposition trenches for many felt he…

  16. Meanwhile Lungu is gunning for a THIRD TERM by manipulating the constitution. Zambian politicians have no integrity at all.

  17. ” Ghanaian Chief Justice Georgina Wood swore in Mr Addo and his Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia…..”

    Ask your selves why The violent corrupt fraud convict lungu who hides behind prayers was a worn in by a clerk instead.

  18. Comment:The difference is Ghana had a free, fair and transparent election. No votes were stolen to populate another. If I were Lungu, I would be ashamed. How does this guy get the guts to play innocent in front of other leaders? A thief is a thief.

  19. Comment:let this stupid lungu to stop talking about free peaceful election he his dictator leader and poison snake let me warning this stupid chap kalaba u are same people whom influencing ka chakolwa lungu to behave like dog or ghost and rupiah u are very much stupidity if u here in Zambia do u think there is Peace u magot thief’s let me stop coz I can vomiting when am talking about lungu and stupid pf

  20. Lungu was preaching to himself. He should have handed over power when he lost the election to HH. He saw how many presidents attended Addo’s inauguration, but him only one dictator showed up. This confirms that the international community knows he was a sham and illegitimate.

  21. President Akkufo-Addo invited Dr. Kiza Besigye Ugandan opposition leader to the inauguration instead of Museveni. Imagine that!

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