What have we achieved after 59 years of independence?
Euphoria swept across Africa when Ghana gained its independence from Great Britain on March 6, 1957, because Ghana’s independence, the first in sub-Saharan Africa, was seen as a giant stride for the whole African continent.
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Indeed, when Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah, made his famous independence speech on Independence Day, he declared that “the independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked to the total liberation of the whole African continent”.
Ghana has trudged on since then, becoming an example to other African countries which were colonised and have also gained their political independence. In fact, years on, Ghana has been referred to by many countries as an example of democracy for Africa and the West African sub-region, due to the stability it has gained since 1992.
The airwaves have also been liberalised with the proliferation of radio, television and online media that have become avenues for the discussion of current topics. People also freely express their views on issues of national importance on the different media without the fear of arrest or imprisonment.
Indeed, in recent reports, Ghana has been ranked high in media freedom and also been touted as a beacon of democracy in West Africa, which still occasionally experiences political turbulence.
What we believe we, as a country, now need to pursue is economic independence. Ghanaians can be said to be better off when it comes to basic necessities such as food, clothing and shelter but we believe that we have miles to cover in ensuring the welfare of the citizenry and the ease of accessing those basics.
The working class, especially, has for the past years always clamoured for increases in wages and salaries to meet the rising cost of living. Rents and utility prices have skyrocketed over the years without a proportional increase in wages and salaries.
This is the reason various workers’ groups from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to other groupings such as the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the Teachers and Education Workers Union (TEWU) and the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG), among others, have taken to the streets in recent times.
Citizens have also decried the increases in fuel price increases, which have only added to their woes. When fuel prices are increased, it automatically increases the prices of almost everything, including transport fares.
The Daily Graphic believes that as the country attains its 59th milestone, the focus must be on ensuring the welfare of the citizens, by not only making the institutions of governance work, but also ensuring that the people are able to make more wealth in good health and live comfortably in an enabling environment.
Let us continue to champion peace but let us also formulate policies that will inure to the wellbeing of all Ghanaians and attract those in the diaspora to come home to establish businesses that will thrive.
Whatever the challenges, we wish all Ghanaians a happy 59th independence anniversary.