THE President yesterday reiterated his pledge to create an atmosphere of inclusiveness, respect and courtesy in our national discussions and debates when he presented an address on the state of the nation to Parliament.
In an address on the theme, “Partners in Vision”, President Mills recalled the campaign pledge of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which was an agenda of change for a better Ghana, saying that the change was promised to advance the cause of democracy and renew our faith in the future of this country even as we take on a new set of development challenges.
Indeed, the President was forthright when he stated that “nobody has a monopoly of either vision or wisdom and we will take honest criticism in good faith. We will work together to fashion out the appropriate policies that will help our nation face and overcome her many challenges in these times of great uncertainty”.
The fact that Ghana has always been the torchbearer of the renaissance on the African continent has never been in doubt. We were the first to gain independence in sub-Saharan Africa and the first to build a strong foundation for democratic governance after a long interregnum of military dictatorship.
The Daily Graphic is encouraged by the acknowledgement of the good work of our past leaders by President Mills.
Said he: “Kwame Nkrumah laid the foundation for oil and gas exploitation in Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings created the institutional framework for its exploitation, the oil and gas was struck in commercial quantities in the period of John Agyekum Kufuor and actual commercial exploitation is beginning in the period of John Evans Atta Mills.”
Almost 53 years after independence, our country has made great strides. Surely, we have also committed some mistakes during the period, but our future progress depends on the lessons we learn from our mistakes in order to take the right decisions for national development.
As the government plans to constitute a multi-partisan group to revisit the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act (ROPAA) passed during the Fourth Parliament of the Fourth Republic, it will be worthwhile for it to initiate a national agenda on all development issues.
This way, no government will have the power to deviate from the national interest so that we can have consistency in the implementation of policies concerning education, health and the economy.
Ghanaians from all walks of life have demonstrated excellence and distinction in various fields of endeavour, both locally and internationally. Perhaps where we seem not to be making so much progress is how to put the building blocks together in order to create a unifying nation within the diversified political environment.
The country will gain tremendously if we all make a pledge to suppress our individual political ambitions in the interest of national development because together each and everyone gains.
The global economic challenges have not abated, but locally the government has made certain gains by putting in place policies to stabilise inflation and the cedi, while interest rates are gradually coming down.
Perhaps our greatest problem as a nation is our inability to play by the rules. Everybody tries to cut corners in one way or anther, damning the consequences. And anyone who tries to do the right thing earns the displeasure of his peers and society at large. How sad!
The Daily Graphic believes it is time we changed our ways and also eschewed complacency, especially in the management of the economy, so that more prudent policies will be put in place to make life better for all.
We also need to rededicate ourselves to the task of nation building, put Ghana first and eschew vices such as indiscipline, corruption and abuse of office and power.
No comments:
Post a Comment