Economy: 'We've happily turned the corner' – Akufo-Addo

Ghana's economy is rebounding, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said in a national address to mark 31 years of the fourth republican journey.

“We have, happily, turned the corner on our economic situation as we experience the rebound of the national economy, and we will continue to work strongly at the problems facing the nation, knowing that the solution, every four years, rests, in part, on the sovereign will of the Ghanaian people, when you exercise your power to choose freely your leaders to manage the affairs of the country," he said.

He noted that democracies are "grounded on viable elections, and, this year, like we have done on eight other preceding occasions, we will go to the polls to elect the President and my successor".

"No true democrat can disregard the importance of elections and the sanctity of the ballot," he noted.

He said: “It must, thus, be in our collective interest to ensure that the rules and regulations for the conduct of this year’s elections are fair and transparent and that we all develop respect for them, a respect that should not be a function of whether you win or lose.”

The prsaident said: “All stakeholders, that is the Electoral Commission, the political parties and their leaders, the electorate, and citizenry, should work to assure the consolidation of Ghanaian democracy and help us maintain our pride of place on the continent as a model of democracy in Africa'.

“At the end of it all, there should be no lingering doubt about the legitimacy of the election, and the winning candidates, on the conclusion of the process, should receive the unalloyed support of all. That is how we can strengthen our democracy and the peace and stability of our nation.”

He said he has contributed his personal quota to Ghana's constitutional dispensation.

“I have spent my adult life fighting for our individual and collective rights, and it is, therefore, gratifying to note that the nation’s adherence to democracy has not waned."

He, however, said the challenges confronting the country can not be overcome overnight.

"We know that there are no quick fixes to the challenges confronting us, and, as we have seen in recent times, democratic structures of governance are capable of accommodating the most difficult of circumstances.”