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STATE AWARDS B;\NQU El
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STATElVll:,N·1· BY
RT, llOT~. P . .l. i\ \ 'i'Ti.:i·~ SO>J
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Your Excellencyf lt. l.,t. .Jerry John Rawling:~. (). J.
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Most distinguish d first lady. Mrs Nana Rmvli ni;,s
Your Excellency Vice President and Mrs Jo hn i\. Mills
Hon Ministers of Government
Your Excellencies, members of the Diplmnat ic Corps
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Distinguished la(iies & gcnllemcn.
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Today, during my .brief visits to the Cape Coast and lJmina Castles, I was struck
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anew by the ~onds, which inexorably link the peoples of (,hanu and Jamaica.
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I saw in the eyes of your people, as I .sec now in yotll's, · 1hc---wdcome reserved for a -
brother, a son~ who has finally returned ho,rn:.
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· Today, the btjnds of our common ancestry \Vere clearly sel·r evident. There wa" living
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testimony abimt the history of the wc:~I <.: on st of Africa and its blood lines with the
African diasJora of the new world.
Nearly five 'cnturies ago, the African .:lllCL'stors of the Caf'ibhe~rn were savagely torn
from their ro ts and stac.:ked like cargo in slave ships departing for the Americas from
1ina and Cape Coast ca st k s. In l he rK'W world. our ancestors were
oppressed to 1bring wealth lo the colonial nmstcrs.
Here in Afr a, those same masters cxpktitcd your resources and wrought d·isunity
among tribafi kingdoms, the hett.er to cxcr'Ct Sl.' dorninancc over you .
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.... ,entrc, I could nol ignore how the winds or t mnge for freedom
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for Africa hie\~· from that new ,vorlJ.
longer slaves/ .,Jrailblazing heroes likl~ \~/i lliarn Dubois. ( kt gc Padmore and
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rcus Garvey, dared~·to strive for justice and equality for all I cop1es of african
Ma,ny or'us were not yet independent hut they knew th( t unlit Africa was
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· _free, her sons acros~ the globe would remain shackled .
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It was their gospel ~fa free Africa which would inspire the tow~rinf giants of African
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liberation to more from the dream and fight l(lr the reality or an ind~pendent Africa.
From Kwame Nkrumah. to Patrice l ,umumba, to Jomo Kenyatta'. to Julius Nyerere
and Kenneth Kaunda, the flame passed through to Nelson ~Aanc.k·la and the triumph
over the last bastion ol racist oppression.
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\:/ifhe castles of Cape Coast and Elmina also evoked the memory of our Emancipation
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:_: Day celebrations\ ~hich \\/ere restored in 1997, At that tirrn: . . 1· our cherished and
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honoured guests_ w~re my brother President Rawlings and his dear irst lady.
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We thought it fitting that they. as leaders or 11,e first British C1lloti1y in Africa to gain
independence, should celebrate with us a freedom even not only for us of the
diaspora. but also for the African motherland.
What an impression did President and Mrs Nana Rawlings mak<: on Jamaicans of all
walks of Hfc!
We are deeply moved that Jamaica~s cclchrations so inspired ycn1.: Mr. President, that
ac; of 1998, August 1 is marked by our Ghanaians hrothc1~s and sisters as
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· Emancipation Day. May I state my own sat is faction that this rs an annual event,
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, •).·:·:: Jinked with. Panafe);t~ which even more close Iv seals the intcractior· or our peoples . .. ' ',: .. /i .
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·.. My· own visit. t~ -t~e Republic of Ghana responds to the kind in :itation, which you
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. . . extended to· me, Mr President. ' ' ;.,
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But 1 must add that 1 am not merely reciprocating your visit to Jamaica. Nor am I
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. here to simply savour once again the ,varmth or the wonderli.('. people of Ghana,
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_-· ~hich I re~m~;:well since ,my first visit in 1957 as a student lea lcr . . ,,, :tt .
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. \ ~{ am here as Pri~e Minister of Jamaica in symho)ic pilgrimage! of the dia~pora to
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·: :'Ghana, the land of our ancestors.
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This marks the close of one circle as we start to huild a series of Jonccntric circles in
the new world order and a vastly diflerent ,.vorld.
Ghana and Jamaica, like other developing countries, must seek ihat kingdom in an
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increasingly glohaHzed environment in \Vhich the small and vulnc /·ahle run the risk of
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heing margina~ised.
At the international level. we must collaborate in tht• design nf !he new international
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financial architecture, a~ well as in the fotiher development of the world trading
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system.
It is indispensabl~; therefore that our policies he well coodina~cd. our negotiating
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. ·,. strategies ~learly}c~nceptualised and our nqwtiators dlcctively prepared to defend
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Our unity of purp.ose and action must not be hroken. Wi.:: can sc this to span the
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historic divide of}mperial ,e.xp]oitation. The old philosophy of di: ':.. ide an~ rule which
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was used by the cotlonial masters of the pnst must not again l~c ·,i'l1n ved to sticcecd.
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There is one union of developing countries vd1ich is of particular ,.importance to our
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_ -~uture advancement. It resulted from the division \Vhich Huropc fostered. It is the
, African- Caribbean - Pacific ( ACP) countries forged in 1970 as \Ve negotiated the first
Lome convention, the frame work for our relations \Vith r:uropc.
At this time, as we· lo6k ahead to the expiration of the 4th Lome ( :onvention and the
arrangements whic~ must succeed it. \Ve dare nnt yie Id to any pressure or temptation
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to dissolve that unity.
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I am pleased that .tana shares Jamaica's strong det~rmination to !!Juan.I ACP unity.
We firmly believe· that th(: current EU proposal to divide the . CP into six trade
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groups has adverse) mplicatiom; fhr our dcvelt \pment.
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We are convinced that ACP unity is essential to any successor an mgement which is
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aimed at strengthening our development through mutually advrtageous re at1ons
with the European ~Jnion.
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Ghana hotd$a ke~J ole in <ntr ongoing efforts to guard J\CP unity. j
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At the bilateral level, Ghana and Jamaica are working to strcng hen our cooperation.
Our Joint Commission for c:ooperation. \Vhich \Vas established I _; President Rawlings
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and myself in .August of J 997, has fhrmuJatcd a two - year rn :gramme of action to .. l
tackle priority concerns in our thrust for (kvl'lornK'nl. )
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l I We are agreed that human resourc.e development and strength. 'ning people - to -
peop1e cdntact through culture, sports ,md tourism must take r ride of place in our
joint efforts.
Our emphasis on our people is born of nur com1nitn1cn(. to e11l1, m~ing their welfare,
ensuring that people remain at the centre of our dcvclo mcnt policies and
programmes.
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It is this .commit; en/ which drives my own administration as + confront the deep
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challenges in our.-:famaican society.
Our national policies arc geared towards rositioning Jamaica s) that we can take
advantage of the opportunities atfordcd hy glohalisat ion.
Human resource developmcn.t, including in the key areas of iril<.) mation technology
and scientific research~ arc priorities in Pur nnt ional industrin I pn fit v. ·
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Poverty and marg·inalisation undermine social stability.
Education holds the key to a lasting solul ion at the human level and also for the
growth and prosperity of our nation.
President Rawlings,
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You have been gi~ious enough to award me Ghana's highest dcct ration, th~ o;der of -
the Star ofGhan~1-which I accept with all humility, on hehalf of ~hc (,overnment and
people of Jamaic~:
It will be guarded as a prec10us treasurl' trnd as a symbo 1 l r the r~spect and
unbreakable partnership which exists between our lwo <.:ountrics.
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