2007年VOA标准英语-Ghana Prepares to Mark 50 Years of Political In

By Efam Dovi
Accra
03 March 2007

Ghana is preparing to mark 50 years of political independence from British colonial rule. The March 6 event is expected to attract about 30 heads of state and many high profile delegates from around the world. But with only three days to the big event, the government is being criticized for poor organization and exclusion¹ of political opponents from activities marking the anniversary. Efam Dovi has details from the Ghanaian capital, Accra.

vendor2 walks with a placard featuring Ghanean statesmen on the streets of the capital city Accra ahead of the country's 50th Independence Anniversary celebrations" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070523/0945390.jpg" width="208" vspace="2" border="0" />

A street vendor walks with placard featuring Ghanean statesmen on streets of Accra ahead of country's 50th independence anniversary celebrations

A chain saw cuts through a tree stump³ on a portion of the ceremonial road in Accra, to make way for a sidewalk. At Independence Square, the main venue⁴ for the anniversary parade, bulldozers are still working behind the independence arch, and in many parts of the city, the usual dark streets are being lit.
 
Ghanaian authorities are determined⁵ to give the city a complete makeover before their numerous guests start arriving.
 
But opposition⁶ party members are criticizing President John Kufuor's administration for poor planning.
 
Dr. Edmund Delle is National Chairman of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP), a party that follows the traditions of Kwame Nkrumah, the man, who led Ghana into independence and later became the country's first president. 

"Go round and see, they are now painting around the place when you have a few days, go and see Nkrumah's monument at the circle, there is nothing for you to write home about it, people who are coming to Ghana will definitely like to see the greatest of the great ones, and that is Kwame Nkrumah, you can not deny it," he said.  "So definitely they will like to know where he lived, they will like to know his home town, some of the buildings that he used. These are monuments which don't belong to the CPP, they belong to the whole nation, they are historical places."

Dr. Delle says the government should have had broader consultation⁷ with all political parties, in planning the national event.

"This is a political event," he said.  "Celebrating the independence of Ghana is a political event, because 1957 was the year we had political independence. So you cannot divorce it from politics. So we the political actors should have been involved maybe make contributions to government how we thought that this thing could have been done. And of course, as government, they will always take the final decision."

Dr. Delle says ordinary Ghanaians who worked to gain independence for the country have not been involved in the anniversary activities. He says the Kufuor administration only thought of the elites⁸.
 
But deputy Information and National Orientation⁹ minister Oboshie Sai Cofie says it is the government's responsibility to organize the anniversary.

"Yes, they may not have been involved in the actual planning of the events. Our belief is that this is an event that is suppose to be organized by the leader and we feel it's government's responsibility to take hold of this event, plan it, organize it, and then invite people to play their different parts," she noted¹⁰.  "That is not to say that there has been no consultation.

Both the CPP and the National Democratic Congress, the largest opposition party, say they have, so far, not received any formal invitation to the anniversary activities. But Cofie says the invitations are still going out.
 
The government last month sent a special delegation¹¹ to invite former President Jerry John Rawlings to take part in the ceremony, but it is still not clear if he will attend. He has been reported as saying there was nothing to celebrate.

1 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

2 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

3 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

4 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

8 elites   

精华( elite的名词复数 )； 精锐； 上层集团； （统称）掌权人物

参考例句：

• The elites are by their nature a factor contributing to underdevelopment. 这些上层人物天生是助长欠发达的因素。
• Elites always detest gifted and nimble outsiders. 社会名流对天赋聪明、多才多艺的局外人一向嫌恶。

9 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。