Re: Mahama Chased In US

The attention of the Ghana Embassy in Washington, D.C., has been drawn to an article captioned “Mahama Chased In US” on the Ghanaweb online site. The Mission will like to state that the article is filled with falsehoods, inaccuracies and written with the intention of deceiving the general public, particularly, the good people of Ghana. The Embassy will, therefore, like to set the records straight and request that the article be retracted.

As part of his visit to the United States to attend the 69th United Nations General Assembly {UNGA}, His Excellency President Mahama, as he does whenever he travels overseas, decided to meet with the Ghanaian Community in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts in Worcester on Saturday, 27th September 2014.

The Embassy, in conjunction with the Community, organised a Townhall meeting in the Spyridon Church in Worcester, to afford our compatriots in that part of the U.S., the opportunity to interact with His Excellency the President. The organization was done in a nonpartisan manner and involved the entire Community. The Planning Committee that was set up had membership from all Ghanaian groups in the Greater Boston area.

As is the case with all Presidential movements, the U.S. secret Service had scouted and mapped out the VIP's route well ahead of the event and at no point was that changed. For the article, therefore, to say that the President was “whisked away by his security and protocol officers…..” is, for all intents and purposes, untrue. Indeed, before entering into the building, President Mahama greeted the handful of protestors who had gathered and they responded with a “Welcome, Mr President”.

The Townhall meeting went very well and as the article said, the event was well attended. The President took the opportunity to explain major government policies to the gathering and how they could, from their bases in the U.S., contribute towards national development. The Question and Answers segment gave the President the chance to further elaborate on issues and also address the concerns of some of the members of the community.

Prior to his meeting with the Ghanaian Community, President Mahama, on arrival in Worcester, met with the Worcester city authorities, including the Mayor, and the Worcester Chamber of Commerce. Discussions with the Chamber were very fruitful and having earlier on identified Ghana as one of seven priority countries for the Chamber, the meeting with His Excellency reaffirmed that decision.

The Embassy, hereby, reiterates that the mentioned article should be retracted because it contains untruths about what happened when His Excellency President Mahama visited Worcester recently and, therefore, was designed to misinform the general public.

Information Section
Ghana Embassy
Washington DC