Ghana beyond aid to propel country pace of development – Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo has said, the Ghana Beyond Aid was meant to be more than a slogan, but to propel the country into the frame of mind that would quicken our pace of development.

This he said was meant to change our mindset from one of dependency to one of achieving our destiny and meant to put us in charge of our own affairs, make us truly independent and give us the respect and dignity we deserve.

The President said this in a speech read on his behalf by the Mr Felix Mensah Nii Anang-La, Metropolitan Chief Executive for Tema at the Independence Parade to marked Ghana’s 61th Independence Anniversary in Tema.

President Akufo-Addo said poverty and infrastructural deficits continues to be our lot with mismanagement, corruption and high fiscal deficits becomes the hallmarks of our economy which we finance through borrowing and foreign aid.

He said it was time to pursue a path to prosperity and self-respect for our nation and that a Ghana Beyond Aid was a prosperous and self-confident Ghana that would be in charge of its economic destiny.

President Akufo-Addo said to get a Ghana Beyond Aid, there was the need to effectively harness her resources and creatively and efficiently deploy them for rapid economic and social transformation.

This he said would require hard work, enterprise, creativity, and a consistent fight against corruption in public life and will require a break from a mentality of dependency and adopt a confident can-do spirit, fuelled by love for the country.

The President said “The Right to Information Act,” one piece of the anti-corruption framework was yet to be put in place; to increase transparency and add another critical weapon to the armoury in the fight against corruption.

He said the protection of the public purse was a social common good, depended on all of us which was in the interest that corruption does not thrive.

The Commander in Chief said the world was now competitive through digitization and that Government under his leadership have undertaken deliberate policy reforms to digitize Ghana to formalize our economy.

He said the poverty gap was a technology gap and the mastery of technology was what at the end of the day separates developed from developing countries, or rich from poor countries.

President Akufo-Addo said Government is committed to the growth of the private sector as it is believed to be the critical partner in moving Ghana Beyond Aid.

There are many projects in roads, railways, water transport and agriculture which, if properly structured, will attract private sector financing. Key to attracting private sector investment is a conducive business friendly and peaceful environment.

The Commander in Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces said even though underachievement may have been a major part of our history thus far, it should no longer be part of our destiny.

He said achieving our destiny requires a deliberate, qualitative change in all aspects of our lives in the structure of our economy, infrastructure, education, attitudes and the firm holding of values that define us.

He said since Ghana won her independence 61 years ago, At its birth, great things were expected of this nation at its birth and of those who would have the honour to be called Ghanaians.

President Akufo-Addo said Ghana blazed the trail for independence on the African continent, and, with it, came a grave responsibility to be forever used as a measure of how the continent was doing.

“Today it is Ghana’s kente that identifies the African continent and its peoples”

He said Ghanaians might be any tribe from any region and might sometimes even lapse into ancient rivalry modes; but, as Ghanaians, we are comfortable in our skin.

President Akufo-Addo noted that apart from the physical, outward things that identify us, there are the more subtle, but important things that define us as Ghanaians, adding that, “we are a hospitable people, we make strangers and visitors feel at home, it is part of our DNA.”

He said: “On a day such as today, our thoughts invariably stray to the past, but we do not intend to live on past memories. To paraphrase Ephraim Amu in Yen araasaaseni, it is now our turn to build upon those past glories”.

“‘Adu me ne wonso so, seyebeye bi atoa so’, the litmus test is simple: every day must bring some improvement in our lives, today must be an improvement on yesterday and our tomorrow must certainly be better than our yesterday.”

The President said “The Right to Information Act,” one piece of the anti-corruption framework was yet to be put in place; to increase transparency and add another critical weapon to the armoury in the fight against corruption.

He said the protection of the public purse was a social common good, depended on all of us which was in the interest that corruption does not thrive.

He said: “As President I accept an obligation and I am determined to discharge faithfully. The recent spate of armed robbery incidents is totally unacceptable. I will work to ensure that citizens are able to go about their daily duties in the confidence that they are safe.”

“The police have the primary responsibility of maintaining peace and keeping law and order in our society, and, in exceptional cases, with the backing of the armed forces. The government is doing, and will do whatever it takes to enable the police discharge their duties effectively. We are providing the means for them to modernize their equipment and learn modern methods of policing, and the numbers will be rapidly increased to match our growing population, and sophistication and audacity of the criminals.”

Olams SHS won the first position in the second cycle category with 119, whilst Manhean SHS won the first runner-up with 114 and Tema Industrial Mission SHS the second runner-up with 112 the Medas SHS with 111 as fourth.

Holy Child Primary won the first position in the first cycle category with 118, whilst Desk Educational Institute won the first runner-up with 154 and St. Album Primary as the second runner-up with 112. 111 as fourth.