“The effort to bridge the constraints to movement among our countries is being tackled at the level of the African Union (AU), but the process needs to be fast-tracked,” he said.
President Mahama was responding to the toast at a state luncheon hosted by Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama, the President of Botswana, in his honour yesterday as part of his three-day state visit to the southern African country.
President Mahama said efforts were being made to create a continental free trade area within the shortest possible time.
President’s activities
The President arrived in the capital of Botswana, Gaborone, with his wife, Madam Lordina, as well as other government officials, yesterday.
The visit is a follow-up to the August 2011 visit to Ghana by President Khama.
As part of his activities, President Mahama will inaugurate the Dikgatlhong Dam, visit the Botswana Meat Company and tour the Diamond Trading Company of Botswana.
The Dikgatlhong Dam is the largest in Botswana, with a water holding capacity of 400 million cubic metres. The project is expected to help solve the challenging water supply situation in Botswana.
President Mahama will also visit a youth empowerment project in Gaborone and share with the host authorities, Ghana’s experiences with youth development and empowerment.
The Ghanaian community in that country comprises largely professionals such as medical doctors, engineers, lawyers and accountants.
There are many others with established businesses in the SME sector of Botswana.
Bilateral level
President Mahama said at the bilateral level, countries should be able to take a number of decisions that would help with the continental approach.
He referred to a memorandum of understanding on political consultation signed earlier in the day between Ghana and Botswana and said, “I believe that this is appropriate, considering the shared values we have. We also believe we can enhance trade and business negotiations and movement between our countries and, in the medium term, look forward to free access to our two countries by our nationals without any restriction.”
Botswana’s strides
President Mahama congratulated President Khama on his country’s successful elections in October last year in which he won another term in office.
He also hailed Botswana’s economic strides which had positioned it as one of the best performing economies on the continent.
“The leap from a poor African country to a thriving middle-income country today is commendable and worthy of emulation,” he said.
He said Ghana would continue to implement its policy of good neighbourliness, which would manifest in developing strong relations with all African countries.
Besides, he said, Ghana would continue to rely on brotherly nations such as Botswana to help share with other countries the experience of a stable democracy, strong institutions, respect for human rights and the enormous benefits of changing governments only through the ballot box..
He thanked President Khama and the people of Botswana for the assistance they gave the three most affected Ebola countries in West Africa.
President Khama
Proposing the toast, President Khama said President Mahama’s visit was a clear testimony of the importance Ghana and Botswana attached to strong bonds of friendship and solidarity.
He touched on the impressive strides Ghana continued to make across the development spectrum and said Botswana could benefit from that experience.
Paying special tribute to President Mahama for his visionary leadership that had been instrumental in building a thriving socio-economic environment and political stability in Ghana, President Khama said, “The sound microeconomic environment that Ghana has built no doubt makes Ghana one of the countries to be emulated.”
Present were former Botswana Presidents Mogae and Masire.
(Selorm) | 
(Nana Kwesi)