'Democracy will succeed if we build a prosperous nation' - Akufo-Addo
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says the democracy
Ghanaians intend to build and entrench will only succeed if it results
in the building of a prosperous nation, and in people who are at peace
with themselves and with the world.
According to President Akufo-Addo, “the democracy that we seek to
build does not end in casting votes, and electing a President and a
Member of Parliament once every four years. We seek to build a
prosperous nation with equal opportunities, where all citizens feel they
have a stake.”
The President indicated that never again should a Ghanaian citizen
feel he has to join the desperados that cross the Sahara and drown in
the Mediterranean Sea, because their own country holds no promise or
hope.
“I know there will always be those among us who would want to try and
seek their fortunes in foreign lands. We would wish them well, and pray
that they are treated with dignity wherever they go; but it should
never be because there are no opportunities in Ghana,” he added.
President Akufo-Addo made this known on Monday when he delivered a
speech on “Democracy and Development” at the Cambridge Union Society of
the University of Cambridge, as part of his 3-day visit to the United
Kingdom.
Ghana’s infant democracy, the President said, has put the country on
the path to sustainable development, which would improve the way the
natural and human resources of the country are managed.
“We are on the path to creating wealth and improving the lives of our
people. We are determined to do that by transforming the structure of
our economy. The neo-colonial economy, based on the production and
export of raw materials, cannot form the basis of a new era of
prosperity for our people,” he said.
The President continued, “We have to move, and we are moving towards
an economy of processed agricultural and engineering goods and services.
That is the way to job creation on a mass base, and an improvement in
the incomes of ordinary Ghanaians.”
With widespread unemployment prevalent amongst the youth, which, in
his view, represents the greatest threat to Ghana’s democracy and
stability, President Akufo-Addo noted that only a performing, rapidly
expanding economy that generates jobs can provide an urgent solution.
To this end, in the short space of 10 months since his government
took office, President Akufo-Addo noted that the country’s macro-economy
has been stabilising.
“The fiscal deficit, which stood at 9.5% at the end of 2016, has been
reduced to 6.3%. Inflation, within the same period, has declined from
15.4% to 11.6%. Our economy has grown from 3.3% last year, the lowest in
22 years, to 7.9%. Interest rates are declining, and we are now
witnessing a more stable cedi, our national currency. We are creating a
business-friendly environment that should encourage significant
investments in the development of our economy,” he said.
The President indicated also that the determination of Ghanaians to
build their democracy is further anchored in their deep-seated belief in
the concept of the separation of powers as an active principle for the
promotion of freedom and accountable governance, free of corruption.
Democracy is working for us
President Akufo-Addo told the gathering that Ghanaians have agreed on
a multi-party constitutional democracy, and a guarantee of individual
freedoms under the rule of law, with these past 24 years of the 4th
Republic turning out to be the longest period of stability and economic
growth in sixty years of Ghana’s nationhood.
“We are nowhere near where we ought to be, but the arguments have
been settled, and, believe me, this has been a critical bridge for us to
cross. And for our Ghanaian circumstances, we dare not undermine
confidence in our young democracy,” he said.
The President acknowledged that having a democracy would not
translate immediately into the resolution of Ghana’s problems, “but I
believe we, in Ghana, are in the position to be able to quote the
English colossus, Winston Churchill, that ‘It has been said that
democracy is the worst form of government, except all those other ones
that have been tried from time to time.”
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