Great opportunities beckon Ghana

Hurray!!! Ghana chalked up a significant 60-year milestone yesterday. After almost 113 years of colonial rule, the Gold Coast attained political independence from the British on March 6, 1957, the first Black African nation to do so.

A colourful anniversary parade was held at the Black Star Square in Accra to mark the occasion.

The theme for the year-long Diamond Jubilee celebration is: "Mobilising for Ghana’s future".

Sixty years of nationhood is no mean achievement and Ghana has every cause to celebrate the milestone.

Over the last few decades, the country has been globally celebrated as the beacon of democracy on the African continent. It has also played a yeoman’s role in international politics, with one of its illustrious sons, Mr Kofi Annan, assuming the position of General Secretary of the United Nations.

Nevertheless, Ghana cannot be complacent as it strives to attain a fully fledged economic independence. It is in this connection that the President’s call on Ghanaians to eschew excuses and join in building the nation for economic prosperity cannot be taken lightly.

Speaking at the anniversary parade, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo stated that Ghana must pursue economic independence after attaining political independence.

In so doing, he noted, the challenge before the nation was to build the economy to provide an improved standard of living for all Ghanaians.

“After sixty years, we have run out of excuses and it is time to set Ghana right and get our country to where it should be. The challenge before us is to build our economy and generate prosperous, progressive and dignified lives for the mass of our people. Hard work, enterprise, creativity and consistent fight against corruption in public life will bring the transformation we seek,” he declared at the parade grounds.

While agreeing with the call by the President, the Daily Graphic would like to stress the need for the nation to also bond better.

According to the President: “We will achieve these goals when we move and act as a united people. We must take pride in our diversity by all means, but the Ghanaian must always rise above ethnic or sectional interests. We have a bright future and we must mobilise all our resources and all our strengths, here and in the Ghanaian Diaspora, to get to that Promised Land faster.”

Clearly, Ghana is enjoying some level of good governance; the rule of law is working to some extent, while peace and stability prevail. However, in this Fourth Republic, it appears we are not leveraging the dividends of democracy to benefit all Ghanaians, irrespective of so-called political affiliations.

We have become so partisan in nature that any time a new government takes over the reins of government, it is payback time for some people, resulting in great disaffection among a chunk of the population, a development which does not augur well for nation building.

“Sadly, the economic dividend that was meant to accompany our freedom has still not materialised. Sixty years after those heady days, too many of our people continue to wallow in unacceptable poverty,” our President stated.

It is the candid view of the Daily Graphic that all hands must be on deck now, not later, to realise the economic independence we so much desire.

For the next 60 years and more, we must endeavour to do away with vices such as corruption, nepotism, self-interest, lack of patriotism, among other things, that slow down the pace of economic development.

Rather, we should embrace virtues such as honesty, candour, truthfulness, patriotism and self-belief to move the nation to the next level of economic emancipation.

At 60, we clearly have run out of excuses not to perform and it is time for action. There is nothing impossible to achieve when a nation sets its mind to it. The Daily Graphic believes there is a bright future for the nation when we become doers.