‘Ghana makes strides, but room for improvement’

General News of Sunday, 8 March 2015

Source: Graphic Online

Bernard Mornah Call

Leaders of various political parties have stated that although Ghana has chalked some successes after 58 years of nationhood, more could be achieved.

Presenting their varied perspectives to the Daily Graphic in separate interviews, the leaders asked the government to sustain national unity and cohesion.

The flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, asked President Mahama to go beyond the rhetorics and back his Independence Day address with action.

For his assessment of the independence anniversary, he said the address the President delivered, which was largely premised on forging national unity and cohesion, could only be realised if “what the President said were not just mere words.”

He said Ghanaians deserved better at this stage and that the current economic situation did not augur well for the economic well-being of the people, particularly so when the country was endowed with natural resources.

Nana Akufo-Addo, who expressed optimism about the future of the country, called on the government to do what was necessary to save the country from further economic decline to restore hope to the citizenry.

The Presidential Candidate of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) in the 2012 elections, Dr Abu Sakara, said 58 years in the life of a country was too small to constitute the basis for describing that country as successful or failed.

He said 58 years for a human being was very long but for a country that might exist for thousands of years, “it is just the beginning.”

That, he said, did not mean the country must not stand up to crucial challenges facing her.

“We have chalked up some successes as was indicated by the President but we do not yet have the fully fledged economy that is robust enough to perform at a level that will give the standard of living which we, as Africans, can be proud of and stand shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the world and say that, yes, we have arrived,” he said.

While the journey to that dream was one that was still in progress, he said, there was the need for all Ghanaians to reflect and ask what their contribution as a generation had been to the attainment of that national vision.

The General Secretary of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Mr Bernard Mornah, told the Daily Graphic that although the country had made some progress, there was more room for improvement.

He said after 58 years, Ghana was still in deficit in many areas, including electricity generation, agriculture, job creation and industrial development.

“As we celebrate this milestone, focus must be on the President’s call to unite and build a prosperous society,” Mr Mornah said.

For the leader of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), Dr Henry Lartey, the country had chalked up many successes in what he described as “growing as an adult country.”

He said countries that had made it today went through some challenges and so Ghana should not be an exception, albeit he identified the energy situation as a serious challenge that urgently needed to be addressed.

Dr Lartey called on Ghanaians to give credit to the forebears of the nation for opening the floodgate for freedom of expression and media pluralism which the citizenry was currently enjoying.

The founder and leader of the Ghana Freedom Party, Madam Akua Donkor, expressed optimism about the country, describing the 58th independence anniversary as a happy moment for Ghana.

“God has blessed the country abundantly because, unlike other countries, we are at peace and also have the abundance of everything,” she told the Daily Graphic in Twi.