Segbefia Hails Mahama’s Foreign Affairs Overhaul
TAMALE — Aspiring NDC National Vice Chairman Dr. Edem Segbefia has lauded the John Dramani Mahama administration for what he described as a sweeping recalibration of Ghana’s foreign policy architecture, asserting that the reforms have repositioned the country’s missions to deliver tangible benefits to citizens at home and abroad. Speaking during an interactive engagement with party grassroots in the Northern sector, he characterized the transformation as a deliberate pivot from institutional inertia to proactive economic and consular diplomacy.
Dr. Segbefia contended that prior to January, the sector suffered from fiscal asphyxiation, diplomatic disengagement, and diminished consular capacity. He noted that embassies were hamstrung by arrears, missions lacked operational vehicles and digital infrastructure, and public diplomacy had receded from global discourse. According to Ghana News Agency, the administration has since prioritized timely disbursements for rent, utilities, and salaries, while equipping key missions with modern consular systems and ICT platforms to expedite passport renewals, attestations, and emergency documentation.
The reforms, he explained, are anchored on the doctrine of “Ghana first, Ghana respected, Ghana engaged.” This entails rapid response protocols for Ghanaians in conflict zones, accelerated repatriation for distressed workers and students, and the deployment of commercial and trade officers to promote made-in-Ghana exports, tourism, and foreign direct investment. Segbefia further emphasized renewed multilateral engagement, with Ghana reasserting leadership within the AU, ECOWAS, and the UN on peace, democracy, and regional integration, alongside enhanced coordination with Sahelian states on terrorism, smuggling, and migration.
Crucially, the former minister framed foreign policy as a grassroots mobilization tool for the NDC. He urged constituency executives to link farmers’ cooperatives, shea processors, and artisans to missions for export opportunities, and to channel diaspora remittances and skills toward clinics, schools, and enterprise in the Upper West and beyond. “When an embassy rescues your sister in Lebanon, when a foreign company invests because of our mission’s advocacy, when diaspora capital builds a CHPS compound in Lambussie, that is NDC power working for you,” he told party faithful, calling for quarterly “NDC Delivery Reports” to document consular and investment wins.
The broader implication, Segbefia argued, is political capital. By restoring the integrity of the Ghanaian passport, clearing budgetary arrears, and synchronizing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with GIPC and MOTI, the government has converted diplomacy into development. He concluded by charging grassroots organizers to carry the message into markets, palaces, and branches across the north: that the NDC has restored Ghana’s international standing and is translating that prestige into jobs, investment, and protection for every Ghanaian.
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Author: Korkor Anumu
