President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has underscored his government's determination to improve the quality of life of Ghanaians and would not renege on his promises towards that goal.
President Akufo-Addo said despite the impact caused by the COVID-19 outbreak and Russia's invasion of Ukraine on the country's economy, the government's goal of improving Ghanaians' dignity and raising the standard of living for every citizen remained unchanged.
"My commitment to uplift the quality of life of Ghanaian is unwavering... and the record of my government points to this," the President said last Friday at the fourth edition of the Founders' Day luncheon for senior citizens held at the Jubilee House, Accra.
As President of Ghana, he said, his preoccupation was to guide the country through the transition of its economy from an export of raw materials and retailer of imported goods to a modern value-added industrialised economy.
"Yes, there are difficulties but let us not forget that 88 per cent of Ghana presently have access to safe water, the national electricity access rate increased from 79.3 percent in 2016 to 88.54 per cent in 2022, making us among the top six in Africa and we are still expecting to achieve the 90 per cent universal access rate by 2024."
"No longer do mothers have to sell off their most treasured fabrics and jewelry and fathers go to money lenders to be able 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 near parity between boys and girls in terms of enrolment...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 the global scale," he stated.
President Akufo-Addo told the senior citizens that the positive impact of the policies of his government was changing the face of the Ghanaian society.
The President 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."
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.
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As a measure of respect for their efforts, he said the country must free itself from the economic arrangements devised by the former colonial power to fulfil its goal at the time but which regretfully "continues 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.
President Akufo-Addo commended and expressed his gratitude to the country's elderly people for their contributions and sacrifices to the country's development goal.
"Our nation is indebted to you because you have helped in its construction and enhanced its image," he added.
