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Obama gets a mixed review in Ghana

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Many Africans were euphoric over the inauguration of President Obama. On his visit to Accra last year, the President said “great days lie ahead for Ghana.” Now some Ghanaians say they’re still waiting to see whether the President can improve the lives of Africans.

• See a map of President Obama’s first year travels
• Listen Laura Lynch’s story from July 10, 2009: President Obama in Ghana

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MARCO WERMAN:  The U.S. operations in Haiti come as President Obama is completing his first year in office.  That year began with a rush of excitement and optimism about the new American president, nowhere more so than in Africa.  Midway during the year, Mr. Obama paid a visit to Ghana, his first trip to sub-Saharan Africa as President.  The World’s Laura Lynch was there and spoke with Ghanayans about their expectations for the first African-American President.  She recently checked back in with some of them to see how they view President Obama one year on.

LAURA LYNCH:  The celebration and ceremony that marked Barack Obama’s trip to Ghana last July confirmed his status as a superstar on the African continent.

BARACK OBAMA:  You can conquer disease and then conflicts and make change from the bottom up.  You can do that, yes you can.

LYNCH:  The President drew adoring crowds during his brief visit.  Obamamania was everywhere, especially at a newly built hotel that was named for him.  Coretta Awusu hosted the grand opening at the Hotel Obama in Accra, last July.  But as it turns out, the Obama brand isn’t a huge selling point.

CORETTA AWUSU:  Most come here because it’s very affordable and Ghana hotels are really expensive and in this area, being close to the airport and the Accra mall, our hotel is really one of the most affordable hotels in the area.

LYNCH:  Awusu is Ghanaian-American.  She volunteered for the Obama campaign.  As she watches his approval ratings fall, Awusu admits to some disappointment, even though she still supports him.

AWUSU:  Because when he was campaigning, he had all these things he said he was going to change.  He was going to change that, he was going to change so many things and a lot of people were expecting things to happen faster than realistically they can.

LYNCH:  For others in Ghana though, President Obama’s inspiring words to Africans haven’t translated into any meaningful change in U.S. policy toward the continent.  Last summer, political consultant, Gabby Ocheridarko, told me he believed Mr. Obama could build on America’s strategic and economic interests, focusing on creating a stronger military presence to promote stability.  While the president has promised to double aid to Africa within five years, Ocheridarko isn’t seeing any concrete commitments.

GABBY OCHERIDARKO:  So we’re not too clear on how he intends to help Africa and certainly, Bush didn’t say much but he did a lot more.   Obama is saying much.  A lot more is expected of him but I think there’s very little to go on.  I mean we don’t have that much confidence so far.

LYNCH:  But others in Ghana say they’re seeing some unexpected changes following Mr. Obama’s trip.  Political analyst Kophie Bentle says Mr. Obama’s call to self-reliance has started to change an age old mindset that caused African leaders to depend far too much on foreign aid.

KOPHIE BENTLE:  You want to build a road, then go for aid.  You want to build a hospital, they go for aid.  You want to do anything serious, they go for aid.  Now they are thinking maybe we should look inward a bit more.  Now I don’t think it will lead to physical structures or huge changes on the ground immediately, but I can assure you that it’s mid-civil society voices stronger and that will ultimately, hopefully lead to concrete changes on the ground.

LYNCH:  Both men followed President Obama’s appearance in Copenhagen in December, as Africa pleaded for a deal on climate change.  Ocheridarko believes Mr. Obama lost an opportunity to build a new partnership.

OCHERIDARKO:  You have the same person going into negotiations, picking certain countries and dealing with them.  Whereas Africa itself, Africa generally had a position on this but that wasn’t really his concern.  That really wasn’t his concern and I think in that instance he let Africa down.

LYNCH:  Bentle though believes the President knew Copenhagen wouldn’t be the answer to what he calls Africa’s most serious challenge, alleviating poverty.

BENTLE:  And by that we’ll be able to lift ourselves up from many of the problems that we have.  Then Africa will have the capability to help other people and in essence, help ourselves also for instance on the issue of climate change and global terrorism.

LYNCH:  For all the disagreements, there does seem to be consensus on one thing.  The President who arrived in Ghana last year with so much promise, with, as he put it, the blood of African in his veins, deserves more time to make a difference in the lives of the people living there.  For The World, I’m Laura Lynch.

WERMAN:  And you can see an interactive map of President Obama’s travels in his first year at TheWorld.org.

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