The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has stated that despite the challenges facing the nation, 88 percent of Ghanaians have access to safe water and electricity.
According to the President, the present turmoil should not cloud the minds of Ghanaians and cause them to forget the significant milestone achieved as a country.
“Yes, there are difficulties, but let us not forget that 88 percent of Ghanaians presently have access to safe water, the national electricity access rate increased from 79.3 percent in 2016 to 88.54 percent in 2022, making us among the top six in Africa, and we are still expecting to achieve the 90 percent universal access rate by 2024,” he said.
The President said this on Friday, August 4, 2023 at the fourth edition of the Founders’ Day luncheon organised for senior citizens, held at Jubilee House.
President Akufo-Addo remarked that mothers no longer sell their “most treasured fabrics and jewelry” and fathers do not go to “money lenders” to see their children through Senior High school.
“Today, Senior High school education is free for every child. There are more children in secondary school now – 1.7 million – the highest in our history and we are nearing parity between boys and girls in terms of enrollment.
“We have changed the curricula and focused on education to meet the needs of the modern economy and prepare our young people to compete on a global scale,” he stated.
GOAL
President Akufo-Addo stated that, as President of Ghana, his preoccupation was to guide the country through the transition of its economy from an exporter of raw materials and retailer of imported goods to a modern value-added industrialised economy.
The President stressed that government was on course to change and solidify the economy until COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine warexacerbated the situation.
However, he intimated that those setbacks have not changed the goal of the government to get‘Ghana Beyond Aid’.
The President told the gathering that the positive impact of the policies of his government was changing the face of Ghanaian society.
He stated that the commitment of the government to improving the dignity of life for the Ghanaian people remained unwavering and “the record of my government points to this,” he observed.
DIGITAL
President Akufo-Addo spoke on the need to catch up with the third industrial revolution, also known as the digital revolution, which his government is investing in, as well as other sectors.
He maintained that by investing in the digital space, the economic and health sectors, the development of inner-city communities, the retooling of security agencies, anti-corruption initiatives and infrastructure development, “our country will shortly take a deserved place as a modern economy.”
RESPECT TO FOUNDERS
President Akufo-Addo paid glowing tribute to the nation’s founding fathers for their vision and sacrifices that paved the way for the country’s attainment of independence.
As a measure of respect for their efforts, he stated that the country must free itself from the economic arrangements devised by the former colonial power to fulfill its goal at the time, but which regretfully “continue to bind us.”
“As we celebrate our founders, we should believe in our capacity to build a modern, developed, and progressive nation.
“We must make concerted efforts to break away from the neo-colonial structure of the raw material-producing and exporting economy, which has been largely our lot and take decisive steps to reach our goal of building a Ghana beyond aid.
“The consensus is for all of us to work towards the prosperous, peaceful and happy Ghana we want. We all recognise that the responsibility we carry as the first sub-Saharan colonial country to gain independence is not simply to build an independent country; we owe it to the rest of the continent and the black race to demonstrate that indeed, we can build and run a prosperous and happy country,” he said.
The occasion was attended by the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Chief Justice Getrude Torkenoo, Madam Akosua Frema Osei Opare, Chief of Staff, Office of the President, and other dignitaries such as; former first lady Nana Agyemang Rawlings and Mr. Sam Okudzeto, a member of the Council of State.
