Hard work will bring about prosperity

Just as quickly as this year’s Christmas came, it has passed with the speed of lightning.

Many had family meetings and reunions and enjoyed various cuisines. There was also a lot of cheer around and a lot to drink.

It was generally a peaceful celebration all across the country, except for the very unfortunate gas explosion at La in Accra that preceded December 25 and a few mishaps that have been reported.

We commend everyone for making the Yuletide a peaceful one, as we all look forward to the coming year with hope.

The Daily Graphic, however, believes that if the hope we all have for a better future is not founded on the desire to work harder and, indeed, exert every muscle in every work we do, that hope will only remain an illusion or a mirage.

Many Ghanaians are hoping for jobs with better remuneration; contractors are hoping for bigger and better contracts; businesses are hoping for better turnovers in the coming year and generally it is everyone’s desire to better his or her lot, especially with the coming in of a new government.

Hope is good because without it everyone will resign himself or herself to whatever comes his or her way — fate. But even destinies can be changed with hard and purposeful work and focus.

The Daily Graphic does not fault anyone who has expressed immense faith in an Akufo-Addo-led government. In fact, it is the reason the majority of Ghanaian voters voted for the New Patriotic Party (NPP’s) presidential candidate who is now the President in waiting.

We, however, want to sound a word of caution to everyone that a lackadaisical or ‘business-as-usual’ approach to work will not change the fortune of workers. Only hard work and a commitment to contribute to the economic progress of the country will.

 Nana Akufo-Addo does not hold a magic wand to improve livelihoods when he takes the reins of government on January 7, 2017.

It is the faithfulness of all Ghanaians, especially the working class, in their various fields of work — banking and finance, commerce, education, aviation, industry, public service, governance, agriculture, marketing, the shop floor — that holds the magic wand that has the potential to turn around the fortunes of the country.

The President-elect will be required to provide good and strong leadership to move the country to another level, but so will the appointees who will be given various ministerial portfolios be required to live above reproach and serve the country well.

They only have about four years to prove to Ghanaians that they are worthy of the trust reposed in them and that they will not take the positions that they will be appointed to for granted.

While we urge all Ghanaians to put their shoulders to the wheel in 2017 and beyond, we also ask the elected 275 parliamentarians not to fail the nation by being parochial and biased in their thinking and actions.

If we have to get ‘rebel’ MPs in Parliament for the government to do the right thing, so be it, and Ghanaians will forever be grateful.

Everyone counts in nation building and we urge all to contribute their quota, no matter how small or big, so that the country will experience that boom in its economy which we have all been yearning for.