The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Honourable Nana Addo Akufo-Addo (MP) has given the assurance in London that the NPP government would not do anything to jeopardise the credibility of the 2004 elections.
He described the general election as a crucial and defining event in the annals of the country’s history and urged all Ghanaians to play a positive role in ensuring that the elections were conducted “in a peaceful, transparent and credible manner”.
“We need to seize this opportunity to show the whole world that we in Ghana have reached a stage where problems of governance are settled through the ballot box and not through the barrel of a gun”, declared the Honourable Foreign Minister.
Honourable Nana Addo Akufo-Addo asserted that the successful conduct of the elections would go a long way to consolidate the nation’s nascent democracy and position Ghana as a matured and established democracy among the comity of nations.
Nana Akufo-Addo was speaking at the end of year get together for staff and officers of the Ghana High Commission in London.
Present at the function were Mr. Isaac Osei, Ghana’s High Commissioner to the UK and his wife, Mrs. Marian Osei; Mr. Kwabena Baah-Duodu, Deputy High Commissioner and his wife, Mrs Edith Baah-Duodu, Heads of Sections, local and home-based staff of the Mission as well as staff of Ghanaian parastatals based in the UK and their spouses.
The Honourable Foreign Minister attributed the rising image of the country to the strides made by the government in the national reconstruction effort and called on officers of Ghanaian Missions abroad to work harder to sustain and further enhance the image of the country.
“It is the statutory responsibility of the country’s missions abroad to project this positive image for the world to know that Ghana ranks high among countries trying to build themselves on the bases of free institutions” said the Honourable Foreign Minister.
Nana Akufo Addo reaffirmed Government’s commitment to ensure that the country’s Missions were adequately resourced to carry out its programmes.
He described the recent release of a supplementary budget of 50 billion cedis for the Foreign Ministry “as a significant first step towards addressing the challenges confronting the Missions.
The Honourable Foreign Minister extended felicitations of the season of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana and the government to the staff and wished them a fruitful and productive new year.
On his part, Mr. Isaac Osei noted that the entrenchment of freedom for ordinary Ghanaians was the driving philosophy of the NPP government and that it remained committed to the creation of a "united and prosperous country, underpinned by the rule of law and the enjoyment of fundamental freedoms".
“It is only in a liberalised and free environment that the energies of our people could be unleashed for national development” stressed Mr. Isaac Osei.
He further cautioned officers not to be content with the modest successes chalked by the Mission over the year but should strive harder to meet the needs of the Ghanaian community in the UK in the new year.
In his welcoming remarks earlier on, Mr. Baah-Duodu asked his colleagues to adhere to the hallowed principles of the civil service, loyalty to government, non-partnership and selfless service to the state especially in this election year.
