Rome (Italy) -- President John Agyekum Kufuor on Sunday said the national reconciliation law was promulgated to fasten unity and to promoted a sense of belongingness, which had dwindled and eluded the Ghanaians as a result of atrocities meted out to some people in the country.
Under the law, the spirit of belonging to one background would be pacified, rekindled and everyone would be happy, President Kufuor said, adding that the law marked the beginning of unity for Ghanaians and not to help people seek revenge or retribution.
He was addressing the Ghanaian community in Rome, Italy as part of as three-day official visit there. President Kufuor, who called on Pope John Paul II, in the Vatican City, would attend World Food Summit being organised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Rome.
President Kufuor promised that his government would impact qualitative leadership on Ghanaians and noted that about most of Ghana's 45 years of independence had been under dictatorship and the country's development was negatively affected by military intervention in politics.
He said Ghana was at the cross road of losing its socio-economic and political gains when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) took over power. President Kufuor said multiparty democracy would eliminate enmity among the people, adding that it was through trials and errors that good governance had flourished in some parts of the world.
He said: "We look forward into the future with confidence and pride that we can build our country." President Kufuor commended the Ghanaian community in Italy for establishing a fund for development in Ghana and urged other Ghanaians living outside the country to emulate them.
Miss Elizabeth Ohene, Minister of State said the legacy that the NPP would bequeath to Ghana at the end of its tenure of office would be the culture of tolerance, which is now prevailing in the country.
Major Courage Quashigah, Minister of Food and Agriculture noted that prosperity of Ghana depended on agriculture but according to him past governments had overlooked this. He said this had resulted in the importation of 180 varieties of agricultural produce and other food items into the country hence Ghana's food import bill of about 400 million dollars annually.
Major Quashigah said government was determined to promote agriculture indicating that that aspect of the economy did not involve the production of farm produce alone, but the establishment of ware houses, creating market and the processing of farm produce.
Mr Jonas Opoku Forson, President of the Ghanaian community, in Italy appealed to the government to rehabilitate roads in the country to reduce accidents. He said government should take adequate measures to revitalise Ghana's oil refinery and mentioned that Ghanaians in Italy have instituted a fund towards development in the country. There are about 30,000 Ghanaians living in Italy.
