Ghana turns 65 years and as tradition demands it is marked every year with celebration. This celebration presents a moment to reflect on the sacrifices that have been made throughout Ghana’s history to bring the country to where it is today. It is a moment to celebrate the wins, big and small.
This year’s celebration is focused on the theme ‘Working Together; Bouncing Back Better’, with the aim of government getting all citizens to partake in building the nation through all sectors of the economy after the country was not spared from the ravages of COVID-19.
Ghana’s independence from Britain in 1957 was widely celebrated in the African diaspora, with African Americans, including Martin Luther King Junior and some few others visiting Ghana. Many Africans still struggling for their own independence looked on it as an example of the future to come.
Despite being rich in mineral resources and gifted with a good education system, and a strong civil service, Ghana is still a victim to mismanagement and corruption. Despite the efforts of past and present governments to put the economy in good shape, it has never been possible due to corruption. The canker that is eating away the successes of the country is corruption. The nation’s inability to deal with corruption will forever derail the country’s economic success.
‘Working together; bouncing back better’
Ghanaians working together with one vision can achieve great things, but as to what needs to be done to revive that spirit remains the big question. The citizens have over the years been lamenting over the governing style of the two political parties in the country.
The interest to work together is ignited when leaders take into consideration the desires of the people and remain accountable to them. Pre COVID-19 era to me didn’t have the best of structures as a country.
Working together to bounce back should create opportunities that are sustainable to the citizens. First there is the need for a world class, technology-driven organization, being run by a full-fledged Ghanaian team who are trained to work tirelessly to build a global trading hub for all commodities. 65 years of independence should be celebrated towards transforming Ghana’s economy through the addition of value to our natural resources, in order to earn the best returns from the hard work of all Ghanaians in the various value chains.
Successive governments have contributed to the growth of education, agriculture, health and transport amongst others but to a point and more needs to be done. As the first country to have gained independence in sub-Saharan, the motivation for other African countries should not be only independence but the governing style.
The backbone of the economy which is agriculture has not been made attractive enough to entice the youth to get onboard and cultivate staple foods such as maize, soya, sorghum, sesame and others in large quantities and able to get good market.
The agricultural sector is one that needs to be given maximum attention because it has the potential to solve most of the country’s problems from unemployment to food shortage, amongst others. With adoption of modern technology in the farming practices. This sector of the country’s economy has the power to transform the nation. It therefore becomes very needful as a nation to ensure there is efficient and risk-free trading solution in the country, to support agricultural development and capital markets.
Democracy
Ghana is a beacon of a thriving democracy for the continent, where democratic institutions are consolidated, human rights were widely respected, and the media and civil society operate without much state interference.
Ghana’s credentials in organising elections and ensuring smooth transfer of power cannot be underestimated. However, Ghana’s democracy is not perfect, and challenges remain.
Overall governance has been on the decline in the past few years which has greatly affected a lot of businesses. Although Ghana remains among the 10 top scoring countries on the continent, it is also among the 10 most deteriorated countries over the last decade.
After 65 years of independence, important progress has been achieved, but there is potential for further reforms to strengthen Ghana’s democratic institutions. Many Ghanaians are yet to experience the economic liberation that comes with independence.
Youth unemployment remains a threat to the security of the country, and many young people feels their dreams can only be achieved abroad. As long as opportunities and the enabling environments remain limited from all sectors of the economy, the promises of independence will continue to be a vision for many Ghanaians. Ghana’s future can be determined and shaped by visionary and accountable leadership. The burden, however, continues to increase while nothing is being done.
65 years, the country should be seeing better and well established structures than what is currently in place. Better monitoring of projects across all sectors, taking into consideration every bit of issues about corruption. Happy independence, and may we have a great and strong nation with total independence!
