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When I heard of Ghana's membership of la Francophonie, I decided to make a check list and to answer certain pertinent questions arising out of the decision. Ghanaians are well known for avoiding details or following up on consequential matters arising out of their decisions. Indeed it is a national weakness to base policies on ideology or perception induced by self-serving propaganda by foreign countries, instead of relying on hard facts, sound intelligence and debate.
Among the pertinent questions which occurred to me were the following:
What is La Francophonie all about?
La Francophonie is first and foremost an instrument to promote the French language and culture worldwide, in response to the eminent position occupied by the English language among UN languages. In this respect it is different from the Commonwealth because the spread of English is not the primary objective of the Commonwealth. Francophonie in the early days of Bourguiba of Tunisia and Senghor of Senegal, who mooted the idea, was more of a cultural organisation of countries which speak French and had cultural links with France either in terms of French population or colonial links. Competition with the Commonwealth was not the primary idea but rather it was emulation which was the dominant motive.
It is natural for a French speaking country to join an association of French speaking states and accept to promote that language in its own territory or abroad. However one would not expect the same obligation from an English speaking country which has to cater for both its official language as well as national languages. Rightly the Rules and Procedure for membership generally known as the Statutes stress: “Associate membership is subject to strict conditions. It is reserved for states and governments for whom French is already one of its official languages or is a language in current usage and where the people share the values of la Francophonie.”
The question therefore arises as to why a country which is not French speaking nor qualifies by membership criteria should be required to join a regional organisation to which she does not belong as of right. The answer can be found from the original aim of la Francophonie which seeks to expand. To bring in a non-French speaking country into the fold by creating a special status for it will lead to the imposition of Francophone obligations on the country without upsetting the balance within the organisation. Francophonie thus remains an organisation composed of French speaking countries. In essence the Associate members are a kind of subjects to the original members of the organisation.
According to the Statutes, Associate members may participate in summits without intervening in the discussions. They will have to be seated apart and in a distinct fashion. They cannot attend close door meetings. They may receive non confidential documents put out by the Secretariats of the various meetings The point is that Associate membership is a period of initiation. The ultimate aim of recruiting Associate members is that they should become full members in future.
4. Compatibility with our Existing Law.
Article 39(3) of the Constitution states
“The State shall foster the development of Ghanaian languages and pride in Ghanaian culture”
In view of the requirement that associate member must show increased commitment to the use of the French language, the question arises as to whether this rule might not conflict with the aims of the Ghana Constitution as stated above. This means therefore that if we join la Francophonie we shall be compelled to develop languages other than our own and taking pride in a foreign culture. This is inimical to our interest. As far back as 1969, Professor Kwabena Nketia, then the Director of the Institute of African Studies, Legon, wrote a Preface to the Proceedings of the Conference on the Study of Ghanaian Languages and pointed out that there was “a growing anxiety about the apparent neglect of the indigenous languages of Ghana since this country achieved independence. There is also the fear expressed in some of the papers and in contributions to the discussions which took place at the conference that English is overemphasised at the expense of the indigenous languages of Ghana, and that the educated Ghanaian will continue to be cut off from his cultural heritage and from many facets of life in his own society if the proper balance is not restored.”
The professor was stating the simple truth that foreign languages tend to interfere with local languages. In this instant case the interference is patent because instead of concentrating on developing our languages, we are expected to take on board a foreign language which we must teach compulsorily throughout the length and breadth of Ghana. Apart from English which acquired its pre-eminence by virtue of colonial rule, no Ghanaian language has the status of being taught compulsorily to all the nationals of the Ghanaian state. The adoption of another foreign language and making it an official language therefore pushes our languages further back. This is not to say that foreign languages must not be taught. They should, but they should be taught as foreign languages and not as additional official language of Ghana. Besides, the pace and intensity of the teaching should be dictated by the Ghana government, having regard to the needs of the country and not in accordance with programme drawn by a foreign government as part of its policy of world coverage.
Disadvantages of Multilingualism
Most of the time, when a country has more than one official language it is because there are more than one linguistic community in that country. Sadly there are often conflicts and problems between the communities as there exist now in Canada and Belgium which are members of la Francophonie. Since Ghana has no indigenous French speaking community it is not necessary to create one to compound our problems. After all if we are using English as an official language, it is because we have many different Ghanaian languages and that English seems to be neutral. Therefore if on top of it we are to choose another foreign language as official language, then we are creating uncertainty and confusion.
It is a sign of independence to politely reject the idea of a second official language because even in France where there are several native languages, there is only one official language. Neither Corsican nor Basque, nor Occitan (Provençal) nor Alsacien all of which are native to the soil of France are an official language. Similarly none of the 27 EU languages is an official language in France in France although they are taught in that country.
5. Incorporation
Another issue is the legal effect of the Statuts d’Adhesion and the Charter on Ghanaian legal norms. Are they supposed to be binding on Ghana? Since the ‘admission’ of Ghana to la Francophonie we hear certain foreign officials committing the Ministry of Education to a policy of compulsory teaching of French language in Ghana. Obviously they assume that the Charter is in force in Ghana.
The snag is that according to Article 75 of the Constitution,
(1)”The President may execute or cause to be executed treaties, agreement or conventions in the name of Ghana.
(2) A treaty, agreement or convention executed by or under the authority of the President shall be subject to ratification by —
Obviously if the Statuts et Modalites d’Adhesion and the Charter are to be binding on Ghana, they must be incorporated into our law. To my knowledge this has not been done. The Ghana Constitution is a rigid constitution. It knows nothing of the so-called gentlemen agreements by which some foreign governments try to circumvent parliamentary approval. Until the ratification process is gone through those documents are not binding. If we begin to implement the Francophonie Charter before the proper incorporation we shall be undermining our constitution and creating a convention which will be recognized in future as an alternative route for bringing into force foreign agreements and can be cited against Ghana in any future litigation.
6. Previous Commitment
My last item on the check list was to examine the question of our previous treaty obligations and commitments. Ghana's membership of the Commonwealth is inextricably bound with her emergence as an independent state. The long title of the Ghana Independence Act passed in February, 1957 by the British Parliament reads: An Act to make provision for, and in connection with, the attainment by the Gold Coast of fully responsible status without the British Commonwealth of Nations.
Cost Benefit
When one tries to do a cost benefit analysis of Francophonie membership it is obvious that there is no real gain for Ghana. The country can have a policy in which a foreign language including French - can be taught in the national interest without any membership of la Francophonie which is a political organisation. As can be seen Ghana has a policy to promote her own culture. Therefore if a foreign government succeeds in convincing Ghana to rather make the teaching of her language an official language which is to be taught as a matter of priority, then Ghana has lost out. This is so obvious. As long ago as 1972, Edward Corbett in his book 'French Presence in Black Africa wrote that the French were worried Africans lose interest in French because French books , particularly scientific works, are increasingly packed with "Anglo-Saxon" terms. Dr. Corbett quoted the Chairman of the High Comm the Defense and Expansion of the French language as saying that French "becoming an underdeveloped la colonized country's tongue."
The author therefore said that Prime Minister Chaban-Delmas subsequently put himself on record to emphasize that the defence of French was a preoccupation of the government, stressing his solicitude for its international role. These considerations provided the major impetus in the formation of an official organization to forward the goals of la Francophonie, despite the French Government's reservations over the restraints such an international body might put on its political freedom of action. The solicitude of subsequent governments, for an international role for French has increased with time. We may feel that we are acting as free agents. Unfortunately the facts prove otherwise.
The author is a lawyer and an authority on the law of copyright in Ghana.
Author Andrew Amegatcher. Published in Ghana Observer on April 2007 the " FRENCH AND LEGAL EXPERT"
This means that we can be excluded from meetings in which purely Francophone matters which affect English speaking countries are being discussed. We could be present and not know that we are under discussion.
Recently there has been some people in Belgium calling for the Wallonia to be attached to France. That is how it all begins. Then la Francophonie has to go in. We can’t allow minorities to be created artificially in Ghana.
