WELCOME 2010 (JAN 1, 2010)

THE year 2009 went down in the country’s history as a challenging one, and yet it was full of hope for what could be a better future.
Coming on the heels of crunch elections in December 2008, 2009 was initially characterised by political tension and acrimony. But as nation, we managed to organise a smooth transition from the NPP government to the NDC government.
Thereafter, the nation was confronted with the stack reality of economic difficulties which had been precipitated by our own internal factors and accentuated by the global economic downturn.
The initial fall in the value of the cedi, high inflation, general increases in the prices of goods and services, increase in crime, as well as oil price hikes on the international market, gave cause to a lot of people to worry about what the future could hold for us.
Fortunately, in the course of the year, the grim situation gave way to hope: The economy has stabilised, the cedi is now stable, expenditure is controlled, inflation has reduced and peace and understanding are replacing the tension and acrimony.
We should be proud as a nation and thankful to God for the great things we have witnessed in the just-ended year. We played host to President Barrack Obama, whose visit placed the country on the world platform and endorsed our democratic experiment as a shining example in Africa and the developing world. Additionally, the nation won the FIFA Under-20 World Cup tournament in Egypt for the first time and the first ever by an African country.
Having crossed over to 2010, the Daily Graphic hopes that with unity, understanding, love and peace, we can overcome the challenges as the New Year unfolds.
Happily for all of us, we cruise into the new year at the time when the nation has discovered oil in commercial quantities, when our democracy has deepened, when we have taken the fight against crime to the criminals and when there is apparent peace and stability. The global economic downturn, which impacted negatively on our economic fortunes, is easing up and the hope is that the world economy will recover by the first half of the year.
Let us, at this point, take a cue from history and some piece of advice from the Holy Book, the Bible. At one time when the people of Israel were to cross the River Jordan to the Promised Land, their leader, Moses, advised them to put their trust in the Lord to deal with the challenges that would confront them in their new settlement.
As a very religious nation, we should put our trust in the Lord and eschew acts such as corruption, greed, pettiness, self-centredness, rancour and acrimony. Let us continue to work hard, otherwise nature’s endowments such as oil, gold, timber, tourist attractions and the environment will be meaningless.
It is also important at this juncture to thank all those who have contributed in diverse ways to the development of the country. Their zeal and patriotism must always spur us on to contribute our quota towards the well-being of our dear nation.
We of the Daily Graphic wish to use the occasion of the New Year to thank our cherished and numerous readers for patronising our products and services.
We assure them that we will continue to use our products and services to facilitate the country’s development and overcome the challenges that will confront us in 2010.
Happy New Year.