The president of Ghana, Nana AddoDankwaAkufo-Addo says 25 years of stable democratic governance in the fourth republic has enabled the country to have a sustained growth in the size of the economy, rising levels of per capita income, and growth private sector.
Re-counting some of the many achievements, the president revealed that there has been a drastic decrease in maternal mortality, environmental degradation and efforts have been put in place to ensure that basic elements of social justice such as education and accessible healthcare are met.
In a speech at the silver jubilee thanksgiving ceremony to mark Ghana’s stable fourth republic, the president noted that Ghana has gone through a lot of inconsistent political instability after independence beleaguered with many military interferences.
Within the uninterrupted fourth republic, Nana AddoDankwasaid “we have certainly come a long way and this period of democratic rule has seen some important development. We have experienced the longest, uninterrupted period of stable, constitutional governance in our history, banishing the specter of instability that disfigured the early years of our nation’s existence and the benefits are showing”.
According to him, despite the gains, the country has still not reached its full potentials as the country continues to face youth unemployment, widespread poverty, land disputes, chieftaincy conflicts, ethnic conflicts, vigilantisms economic hardship, corruption among many others. “But the fundamental commitment to resolving these challenges, within a framework of due process must be unshaken” he added.
The president said the era of Ghana’s industrialization has dawn and government have begun to take a look at the structure of the economy to enable it to transform it from a raw material producing and exporting one to a value-added, industrialized economy with modernizing agriculture to serve the needs of citizens better.He said Ghana’s goal has to be constant to improve the standards of living for all Ghanaians and to put Ghana on the path of progress and prosperity.
Ghana’s first after independence president Dr Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown in 1966, after just six years of the first republic.
The second Republic which started after the 1969 election, led by Dr KA Busia was also overthrown in 1972.
Dr HillaLimann also won power in 1979 only to be overthrown in 1981, bringing an end to the third republic.
After eleven long years of military rule, the country eventually transitioned into a democratic regime after a referendum in 1992 and Jerry John Rawlings winning the 1992 elections.
Jerry John Rawlings ushered in the fourth republic on 7th January 1993 which has lasted for 25 years and have seen five presidents and seven parliaments under it.
The event which took place at the Black Stars Square saw key political actors including all of Ghana’s living ex-presidents, political party leaders, MPs and ministers of state, Chiefs, military officers and ordinary Ghanaians gracing the occasions. The ex-presidents took turns to read the scripture to begin the ceremony.
Players were offered by religious leaders, Christian and Muslim faiths before the president gave an address.
The president paid glowing tributes to the democratic institutions, particularly, Parliament, the judiciary, the Electoral Commission and the civil society groups without which the stable democracy would not have been successful.
The president honoured the memories of the late president John Mills, vice presidents KowNkensenArkaah and Aliu Mahama all of whom were under the fourth republic. He described them as having been instrumental in Ghana’s drive towards a stable fourth republic.
