Outgoing U.S Ambassador Gene Cretz with Diplomatic Call Editor, Seth Owusu-Mante
The United States has enjoyed good relations with Ghana since Ghana’s independence except for a period of strained relations during the later years of the Nkrumah regime. Relations have been maintained through educational and scientific institutions and cultural links and particularly, relations between Ghanaians and African-Americans, are strong.
It is worthy to also note, Ghana was the first country to which United States Peace Corps volunteers were sent in 1961.
With this as a riding factor, the outgoing US Ambassador to Ghana H.E. Gene Cretz in an exclusive interview with Diplomatic Call recounts US Ghana relations as a tremendous exchange of the people of US and Ghana based on solid foundations and democratic traditions with loads of interaction and initiatives at all levels between the two countries.
US Ghana Relations in the Last Decade
When asked to describe US Ghana relations in the last decade, Ambassador Cretz was bold and proud to describe the relations as very active built on a base by his predecessors towards military exchanges, combating narcotics, combatting terrorism, improving maritime security and a host of other priorities of the US government in Ghana.
Ambassador Cretz added “In terms of that, I have done a good job in continuing all the core elements of our relationship. Our aid programing is thriving, Millennium Challenge Compact (MCC) has been terrific, we have pushed up our military bilateral relationship and we have a wonderful media public affairs outreach with our twitter and facebook pages”.
The Witch Camp Story
One major imprint that would always be associated with Ambassador Cretz’s four year duty tour in Ghana was his efforts leading toRegion. “From the moment I got here, not only did I feel the camps were an act of injustice to those people but it did not reflect Ghana of 2015” exclaimed Ambassador Cretz. He continued “we were able to get a sizeable grant of about one million cedi’s to work with the Ministry of Chieftaincy to help rid Ghana of these bad practices so to speak”.
Highlights of Tenure
Amidst a wide range of initiatives in different sectors, Ambassador Cretz noted collaborations of the embassy with the Ministry of Health to improve the medical supply chain in ensuring medicines got to the right people including mothers and children as well as initiatives to preventing the entrance of corrupt medicine into the country as one of the many highlights of his tenure.
Ambassador Cretz continued “our health program across the country has been great and I can further mention our malaria program as another example”. He was proud to have travelled from one village to the other in Northern Ghana last year to watch and witness the spraying process from step 1 to step 5, from going into the huts of people in the North, having them remove some belongings from the hut, spraying the huts and waiting for them to move back. This in his opinion has accounted for the significant drop in the incidence of malaria in the North.
When Editor of Diplomatic Call, Seth Owusu Mante pushed Ambassador Cretz to mention one major project from among the numerous social, health, governance and economic initiatives during his tenure that endears to his heart the most, Ambassador Cretz settled on the second compact of Millennium Challenge Corporation.
He mentioned; the fact that Ghana qualified for the first and second compact of MCC is a big plus to the country and “so we worked with President Mahama, we worked with the Ministries of Energy and Power and other persons in the government and pushed and pushed and pushed to make sure we can sign the second compact during the African Leadership Summit in the US. This in the Ambassador’s opinion should be a very proud moment for Ghana.
“President Obama made Power Africa a key theme of his term in office, perhaps because he understood that if you don’t have power, you cannot develop. So through the MCC we are going to transform that power and energy sectors and once that is done there won’t be a major constraints to development in Ghana” added Ambassador Cretz.
Any low points?
“Not a lots of low points I must say though there were troubling times” said the outgoing Ambassador. He mentioned that the fire outbreaks in some markets in the country in March 2013 were disturbing moments for Ghana and was proud the US government heeded to the call of President Mahama in sending the ATF team to investigate the causes of the fire outbreaks.
He however identified one low point during his tenure as the traditional advisory communication sent to US Citizens in Ghana prior to Elections 2012 which was misinterpreted as the Embassy suggesting there would be violence during or after the 2012 elections. He explained that was never the intention of the US Embassy. He added that, such a communication is sent to US citizens the world over and not only peculiar to Ghana.
Future of US Ghana Relations
“I don’t think it can be in any better shape than this” said the Ambassador. The United States respects Ghana for its contribution to UN Peace Keeping forces over the years and the Ambassador mentions Ghana is really admired for that.
Though on the political side, there are differences with Ghana voting mostly with the African bloc, the two countries have been able to work out all its major issues including very sensitive ones unknown to the public.
In this regard, US commitments to aid programs in Ghana will continue in the years ahead. “Military relations have been excellent in the past years and it keeps increasing every day, our inter drugs efforts, several major operations with the NACOBS and all other US initiatives in the country would continue” he added.
Ambassador Cretz does not see any problems with US Ghana Relations on his exit as Ambassador of the United States to Ghana. He indicated that, the relations have been characterized with high level tremendous respect with a desire at Washington to do what the US can to help Ghana because ofthe country’s stable democratic credentials.
He further described US Ghana relations as one of mutual respect, good feelings for each other and a dream situation for an ambassador which is not difficult to manage at all. He added; US Ghana Relations creates an ample platform for an ambassador to work on the issues that changes and saves lives.
Travels
In his four years of work as US Ambassador to Ghana, Ambassador Cretz has travelled across all 10 regions of the country specifically to monitor and assess the impacts of US projects across the country.
Favorite Moment
During an interaction between Ambassador Cretz and a group of about 100 women farmers who had been beneficiaries of a US project to help women farmers with new seeds and to get their products tothe markets in Tamale, Ambassador Cretz inquired from them what they would use the returns and proceeds from their work for.
The women gladly responded “to invest in the education of our children”. To Ambassador Cretz, this was his most favorite and progress moment in being Ambassador to Ghana. He was extremely proud at that moment bearing in mind, he can go to bed with the hope that, US programs will keep changing lives on a daily basis in Ghana.
Impressions about Ghana
“Ghana is a wonderful country. A country with mutual respect and affection. My wife and I will miss the interaction with government officials and all the people we met in our scope of work” exclaimed the outgoing Ambassador.
To him, it is an honor to serve in Ghana. He added, “Ghanaians should be proud on the country’s democratic foundations. We certainly respect Ghana and we will continue to do so.
By: Seth Owusu Mante Jnr.
