Sahel States: Ghana Appoints Retired Army Officer As Envoy

Ghana President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday appointed a former national security chief as envoy to a new alliance formed by Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, signaling his administration’s intention to mend ties with the three military-led nations.

Juntas seized control in a series of coups in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger between 2020 and 2023 and severed military and diplomatic ties with regional allies and Western powers.

Diplomatic relations between Ghana and Burkina Faso broke down in 2022 after former president Nana Akufo-Addo alleged it had hired Russian Wagner mercenaries, saying their presence on Ghana’s northern border was distressing.

Mahama, 66, won the Dec. 7 presidential election by a wide margin to stage a political comeback in Ghana, the world’s number two cocoa producer, which is recovering from its worst economic crisis in a generation.

Alliance

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning, an Accra-based security consultant, said the appointment of Larry Gbevlo-Lartey to liaise with the three-nation Alliance of Sahel States (AES) indicated Ghana’s willingness to improve its relationship with the junta-led countries in the region.

The three countries created the alliance last July, underscoring their determination to chart a joint course outside the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc.

“His appointment is the first in ECOWAS, and it’s an attempt to rebuild trust… and start the process of reengagement and the return of the AES to the ECOWAS family,” Kwesi Aning said.

The retired lieutenant colonel has “credentials and speaks a language the AES leadership, understands,” he said.

The presidency also said that Mahama had named former minister of communication Edward Omane Boamah as defence minister while former finance minister Seth Terkper was appointed presidential adviser on the economy.

Reuters /Shakirat Sadiq