By Iddi Yire
Accra, July 7, GNA – President John Dramani Mahama has bid farewell to Madam Simone Giger, the outgoing Swiss Ambassador to Ghana.
Madam Giger is leaving Ghana for Uzbekistan after completing a four-year duty tour of the country.
At a farewell meeting at the Credentials Hall of the Presidency in Accra, President Mahama commended Madam Giger for taking Ghana-Switzerland relations to another level.
“And you’ve always been there for Ghana. We appreciate everything you have done. You have worked tirelessly,” the President said.
He lauded Madam Giger for supporting Ghana’s ongoing Constitutional Review Process.
President Mahama said the Cabinet would meet on Friday to finalise the Government’s Position Paper on the Constitutional Review Process, after which the Legal Counsel to the President and the Attorney-General would take about one to two weeks to consolidate the document.
“And after that is done, together with the Constitutional Review Committee Report and the Government Position Paper, we will hand them over to the Constitutional Review Implementation Committee to kick-start the constitutional review process,” the President stated.
“The 1992 Constitution has served us very well. It has been one of our best constitutions, and that has been the underpinning of the Fourth Republic. The Fourth Republic has lasted longer than any other republic in our history.”
He said the Government believed that any amendments to the Constitution would further strengthen it and make it a living document capable of serving the country for the next 30 years.
President Mahama commended Switzerland’s support for Ghana’s cocoa sector and small and medium-sized enterprises, especially in agro-processing and agribusiness.
He said Ghana and its counterpart, CĂ´te d’Ivoire, had recently held a meeting on the future of the cocoa sector, during which they agreed to increase local value addition and cocoa processing instead of continuing to export raw cocoa beans.
On the film industry, President Mahama said the Government had allocated GH¢20 million to the sector and that the money had been paid into the Film Fund, while stakeholders were considering how best to utilise it.
He noted that the Government would make an even bigger allocation to the sector next year.
“We’ll also give another GH¢20 million to the Creative Arts Fund. And so, all the other creatives too will have to decide how to spend it. Depending on how they utilise it, next year we can make additional allocations to them,” he said.
The President said it was sad to see Ambassador Giger leave.
“And so we’re sad to see you go, but Ghana is your second home, and you know that. You’ve made a lot of friends in all sectors, especially the creative sector,” he said.
On her part, Madam Simone Giger expressed gratitude to President Mahama for the warm hospitality extended to her during her four-year duty tour of Ghana.
She said Switzerland firmly believed that the Constitutional Review Process was key to Ghana’s future development.
GNA
Edited by Audrey Dekalu