Time to celebrate Nkrumah - World Bank

Accra, Sept. 22, GNA - The World Bank Ghana Office has eulogised Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, First President and Founder of the State of Ghana, on the occasion of his 100th birthday, which fell on Monday 21 September 2009.

A release from the Accra Office of the Bank on Tuesday signed by Ishac Diwan World Bank Country Director for Ghana, said: "The vision for a better future developed so eloquently by this great son of Africa still drives this nation's work, and ours, today. His words of wisdom remain alive with meaning and urgency."

Quoting from a broadcast Osagyefo the President made to the nation on December 24 1957 - "We shall measure our progress by the improvement in the health of our people; by the number of children in school, and by the quality of their education; by the availability of water and electricity in our towns and villages, and by the happiness which our people take in being able to manage their own affairs" - the Bank said his ambitious vision for the modernisation of Ghana lived on. The release said some of his ambitious vision of modernizing Ghana had been achieved through his own efforts and those of successive governments through hard work, adding; "Nkrumah's early efforts have allowed Ghana today to be one of the countries in Africa with the highest electricity coverage of about 65% and literacy rate of about 70%. His emphasis on national value addition through the accumulation of capital and skills, and through innovation and hard work, and his ability to mobilize people in Ghana and beyond on the path of social, economic and political emancipation are as relevant today as yesterday. "But much remains to be done. The lesson of the past decades is that while progress is possible, it is not easy, and the road is full of ambushes and unexpected difficulties. There are many aspects of Nkrumah's vision which we, at the World Bank identify with." The release said the Bank had financed projects that ranged from the development of electricity; national highways and ports; health including insurance; education including higher and vocational education; and to agriculture including cocoa rehabilitation and irrigation.

The Bank said: "We are now poised to support the emerging oil and gas sector and help to develop local capacities in science and technology and creative industries, while emphasizing the strengthening of institutions to promote transparency and accountability. "We pledge on this day to continue to work with Ghanaians in all spheres of life to identify and eliminate the constraints that remain, or the new ones that emerge, so that together we call all strive to advance Ghana's socio-economic development," the release said. 22 Sept. 09