The Dean of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Prof. Vladimir Antwi-Danso has expressed worry over the visa restrictions policy.
The United States Department of State’s new policy will restrict U.S. visas for any individual responsible for undermining democracy in Ghana.
In a statement, they explained that the visa restriction policy would apply only to specific individuals who undermine democracy and is not directed at the Ghanaians or the Government of Ghana.
But in an interview on Joy FM‘s Top Story, on Monday, October 28, he questioned how the US wants to be the one to determine how democracy should be formulated.
According to him, although a similar approach was used in Nigeria and it worked, he urged Ghana and other nations to chart their democratic paths, cautioning against over-reliance on external models.
“The point is that how long will the US be the ones to determine how democracy should be formulated? I am very much worried over that,” he stated.
He stressed the importance of countries like Ghana establishing their own unique frameworks for democracy noting “What we need is to be able to draw our own contours of democracy,” adding that democratic practices cannot be dictated externally.
“Positive as though as this may sound, I think we need to be very careful about what we accept and don’t. The US is trying to be the Israel Dam where democracies are concerned but no two democracies are the same.”
Mr Antwi-Dando expressed concern about the potential for foreign interference in the governance of nations when electoral outcomes do not align with external interests.
“My fear is that if we always wait for the U.S. to draw the big stick, there is a possibility that when election results don’t favor them, they will use other parameters to measure the government and deny it the right to rule – just as they did in Venezuela.”
He added that the Venezuelan inference threw them into a state of chaos to date.
However, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has welcomed the new visa restriction policy announced by the United States, describing it as a significant development that will keep politicians on their toes.
Mr. Braimah explained that perpetrators will be forced to act with moderation due to the potential impact on their activities while urging other Western countries to apply similar modalities in place.