Posted on 08/05/2003 8:52:29 AM PDT by Ed Straker
Posted on Tue, Aug. 05, 2003
Macon mayor defends trip to Africa
Ellis says Ghana could process city's parking tickets
By Mike Donila
Telegraph Staff Writer
Macon Mayor Jack Ellis on Monday defended his plans to visit Africa, saying that his mission, in part, is to encourage Ghanian officials to import more goods from Middle Georgia.
Ellis also said that during his weeklong trip he will lay the groundwork to possibly enable Macon's Ghanian sister city of Elmina to process local parking tickets.
"Ghana is very important to the city, the state - even the region where we live. They import many goods and services," Ellis said. "There's an opportunity to build more bridges with Ghana."
The mayor, along with city council members Alveno Ross and Charles Dudley, left for Macon's sister city Monday night. They expect to return Aug. 11. The entourage also includes a member from the Cherry Blossom Festival, a city intern from the communications department, an African dance instructor from the recreation department and a member of the Juneteenth Freedom Festival.
Ellis, who has been heavily chastised by the public for financing similar trips with taxpayers' money, said several "anonymous donators" will underwrite most of this trip. However, the city still must pick up between $4,000 to $5,000.
The city each year allocates $25,000 for sister-city expenditures. Part of that money is used to help bring international delegates to Macon.
"There's an opportunity to do some good and an opportunity to meet with government officials," the mayor said. "We're also going to look at the possibility of having our parking tickets processed in Ghana, where people are paid $1 an hour. That's what New York City is doing right now."
Council members were divided about whether the group should take the trip, especially at a time when the council was expected to vote on a property tax increase.
The vote had been planned for today but was rescheduled for Aug. 19.
Dudley and Ross said the trips are nothing new and enable the city to build relationships, both cultural and economic.
Other council members, though, including Stebin Horne, say the trips are a waste of money.
"That trip has no economic impact for the citizens of Macon, and if the mayor is interested in culture, there is a public library two blocks from his office where he can receive as much culture as he needs for free," Horne said. "Even if only one penny was subsidized for this trip, then it is one penny too much."
Elmina, on Africa's western coast, has a population of 27,000 and is known as a hub for technical industry and fishing. It also has a claims-processing unit for United Healthcare.
Ellis admitted that rather than coming back to Macon with new ideas to implement, his goal would be to encourage Ghana to import more Middle Georgia products, in particular Blue Bird buses and cigarettes.
"They also deal in textiles. They make a lot of clothes in Ghana and what do we make here? Zippers," Ellis said.
"I've spoken to the president of YKK and wouldn't it be great if, rather than lay people off, we make more zippers to ship over there."
Ellis added that the entourage will also spend time at the Panafest Festival - the country's largest cultural event, designed to celebrate Pan-African history.
Although the event is scheduled to end this afternoon, the mayor said the festival included smaller aspects that would continue through late Thursday.
In addition to this week's trip, Ellis also will visit Cape Town, South Africa, in early September when the United States Conference of Mayors, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United Nations and African mayors meet to discuss the social and economic effects of HIV and AIDS on cities throughout the world.
The trip, which was scheduled in early July, will be funded by the United Nations, according to the invitation.
To contact Mike Donila, call 744-4296 or e-mail mdonila@macontel.com.
God forbid that an American city use Americans to do this...sheesh
You mean, God forbid that American government not take Americans' money to redistribute it as they choose.
Ah, the symbol of the Democratic Party!
(This guy could be mayor of Richmond in a heartbeat!)
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