Stephen Harper, the former Prime Minister of Canada and Chairman of the International Democratic Union (IDU), has rated Ghana as Africa's freest and most democratic democracy.
He said that since the establishment of the Fourth Republic, Ghana has evolved into a new and better model for Africa, staying true to its slogan of "Freedom and Justice." Ghana, he claimed, was in the vanguard of promoting free elections, the rule of law, free trade, market-oriented growth, and continental free trade.
Mr Harper, Canada's 22nd Prime Minister, said this as the keynote speaker at the University of Ghana's Cedi Conference Centre during a High-Level Public Lecture Series on Governance in Africa. The Young Democrat Union of Africa (YDUA), the youth wing of the Democrat Union of Africa (DUA) under the IDU, organized the lecture in collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, a German development foundation, and the New Patriotic Party, an IDU member.
The conference's subject was "Democracy and Geopolitics: A Global Perspective on the Changing Dynamics of International Order." Leaders and members of the YDUA and UDA from Cote d'Ivoire, Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, Morocco, Liberia, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Ghana, the IDU, members of the diplomatic corps, certain national executives of the NPP, and some youth groups participated.
The IDU is a global coalition of all center-right political groups, including the IDU.
Awards
The occasion was also utilized to honor Akosua Frema Opare-Osei, the former Prime Minister and Chairman of the IDU, as well as the Chief of Staff at the Presidency, for their varied contributions to the YDUA's growth.
They were given plaques, and Mr Harper was given a Kente cloth to wear.
Right-Wing Ideology
Mr Harper added that every thriving democracy has a significant center-right impact, which he described as democracy's oldest theory.
He highlighted that it was one of the political ideas that had withstood the test of time, and that wherever it had been practiced, it had resulted in significant economic growth and improvements in people's lives, while also widening the boundaries of human liberty.
He urged the youth not to join the current wave of coups that has swept the sub-region, but rather to continue to uphold the ideals and principles of democracy in order to ensure personal freedoms, freedom of expression, and the rule of law, among other things, which are the foundations of economic development.
John Boadu, the NPP's General Secretary and Deputy Chairman of the DUA, stated that countries that had achieved significant prosperity in the globe were those who embraced a center-right political philosophy, citing countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany to support his claim.
"It's even more satisfying to note that, despite our center-right and capitalist bent, the NPP has initiated and effectively executed practically all of the policies that have been proposed."
He listed free maternity care, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the Free School Feeding Program, and the Free Senior High School (FSHS) Program, to name a few.
The YDUA President, Louisa Atta-Agyemang, highlighted that the dynamics of democracy and geopolitics were changing all over the world, affecting a wide variety of topics and diverse political philosophies and their variables as a result of these changes.