According to President Akufo-Addo, “our goal has to be constant – to fulfil the hopes and aspirations of Ghanaians, who yearn for improvements in their living standards, in conditions of peace, security and solidarity, and to put Ghana onto the path to sustained progress and prosperity.”

“We can hope for a brighter future, because we are blessed with enormous wealth and human potential.”

President Akufo-Addo made this known on Sunday, 7th January, 2018, at the Independence Square, at an inter-faith thanksgiving service held to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of the establishment of the 4th Republic.

With the country experiencing the longest, uninterrupted period of stable, constitutional governance in our history, he stated that this period has banished the spectre of instability that disfigured the early years of Ghana’s existence, and the benefits are showing.

Cataloguing some of the benefits, the President noted that Ghana has witnessed sustained growths in the size of the economy; rising levels of per capita real incomes; systematic expansion of the private sector; and taken strong measures to try to protect our lands, water bodies and environment from the menace of environmental degradation.

Additionally, over the last 25 years, efforts to meet the most basic elements of social justice, i.e. education from kindergarten through to secondary school, and accessible healthcare to all our citizens, are ongoing.

The President indicated further that the under the 4th Republic, media freedom has been entrenched; attachment to the rule of law, probity and accountability, respect for individual liberties, human rights, the principles of democratic accountability and social justice have been deepened; and an environment in which government and regulatory policies attempt to enhance, rather than inhibit or frustrate, trade, commerce and investments is being created.

Democracy, equality of opportunity and respect for human rights, ideals which have stood the test of time, President Akufo-Addo said, have now found firm anchor in the country’s body politic.

This, he added, is evidenced in the election of 5 Presidents in the history of this Republic, and “even when there was disagreement with the outcome of an election, it was the Supreme Court, rather than the streets, that determined its result.”

Despite all these gains, the President indicated that Ghana has not reached the potential she should have.

“The biggest challenge we face continues to be eradicating widespread poverty. We still have challenges in the performance of our public services; we face threats, traditional and contemporary, to our nation’s security and social stability, in the form of chieftaincy conflicts, land disputes, ethnic conflicts, vigilantism, cyber security issues, youth unemployment, economic hardships, and corruption in our public life,” he said.

In addressing these challenges, the President told the gathering that “we have begun to take a deep look at the structure of our economy, and transform it, from a raw material producing and exporting one to a value-added, industrialised economy, with a modernised agriculture, to serve better our needs.”

He continued, “The era of Ghana’s industrialisation has dawned, so that we can trade in the global marketplace, not on the basis of raw materials, but on the basis of things we make, inspired by our sense of enterprise, creativity and innovation. It is the most effective way we can generate jobs and wealth for the masses of our people, and join the ranks of the developed, prosperous nations of the world.”

With Ghana’s obligation to the unity and integration of the region and continent remaining, President Akufo-Addo stressed that achieving functioning, common regional and continental markets will help consolidate the process of structural transformation of our economy, on which we are engaged, and will, thus, help open up the space for accelerated development.

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By:presidency.gov.gh

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The event, which was under the theme “Celebrating the goodness of the Lord” was meant to acknowledge the country’s stable democracy over the past two decades.

In attendance were all three living former Presidents in the fourth republic; Jerry John Rawlings, John Agyekum Kufuor and John Dramani Mahama, as well as the incumbent Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Also at the Black Star Square today for the ceremony were the Speaker of Parliament Mike Oquaye, Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo,  a number of government officials, leaders of the various religious groups in the country, invited dignitaries from other countries and Ghanaians from all walks of life.

The Service began with several minutes of praise and worship, which saw many of those gathered get off their seats and onto the open floor as they sang and danced along to the melodies.

Each former President then came up to the podium, in turn, to read out a scripture from the Bible.

A number of religious personalities took the stage afterwards and led the crowd for several minutes of prayer and meditation.

President Akufo-Addo took the stage where he spoke of the country’s bright prospects for the years ahead.

“We can hope for a brighter future, because we are blessed with enormous wealth and human potential,” he said.

Representatives from the various political parties were also present including the acting National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Freddie Blay, General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketsia, the National Chairman of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Bernard Mornah and the former Presidential candidate of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), Henry Herbert Lartey, among others.

Despite describing the thanksgiving service earlier as a ‘waste of money,’ the Convention People’s Party (CPP) was represented at the event by the flagbearer in the 2016 elections, Ivor Greenstreet and the party’s National Chairman,  Professor Edmund Delle.

25 years of the Fourth Republic

Ghana’s 25-year-long democratic journey has seen the country being led by five different presidents including the incumbent, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

The first regime of the Fourth Republic was led by Former President Jerry John Rawlings, whose leadership transitioned from a military government under the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) to constitutional rule under the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in 1992.

After serving two terms in office making him ineligible to run against as president, Rawlings endorsed his vice-president at the time, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills as the NDC’s presidential candidate in 2000.

Atta-Mills, however, lost the elections to the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) John Agyekum Kufuor in the 2000 elections.

Kufuor led the country for two terms; from 2000 to 2004 and then to 2008.

Prof. Atta-Mills won the 2008 elections against the NPP’s Nana Akufo-Addo and served until 2012 when he died, 6 months before the end of his first term.

His position was taken by the then Vice President, John Mahama, who was in accordance with the constitution sworn-in hours after the news of Prof. Atta-Mills’ death.

John Mahama completed Atta-Mills’ tenure and went on to win the 2012 presidential elections, again, against Nana Akufo-Addo.

Mahama’s attempt to seek re-election a second term in office was unsuccessful as Nana Akufo-Addo, on his third presidential attempt, secured a resounding election victory of acquiring 53.85% of the total valid votes cast against Mahama’s 44.40%.

The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana that came into effect on January 7, 1993, after it was approved on April 28, 1992 through a national referendum after 92% support.

The constitution declared Ghana to be a unitary republic with sovereignty residing in the Ghanaian people.

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Photos by: Godwin Allotey

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The massively-attended service hosted by Rev. Dr. Ebenezer Markwei (an Arsenal fan) at the Living Streams International Church in Accra was held with members dressed in their Chelsea jerseys while a cake was cut to celebrate the Stamford Bridge title.

Despite the London-based club being thousands of miles away from Ghana, the Ghanaian fans of the club celebrated it gusto as the pastor preached the sermon under the theme ‘Learn to promote the success of others’.

The event which was heavily publicized by another famous pastor Rev. Azigiza Junior, who is an ardent Blues fan, saw supporters of some rival English sides also attending to hear the sermon.

Rev. Dr. Markwei told the title-starved fans of Arsenal and Manchester United who were in attendance that it is Godly to also celebrate the success of others.

“Fellowship with those who rejoice in your victory. They were 10th last year and we called them names thinking they can’t rise again but today here they are on top. With God nothing is impossible,” Rev. Markwei  said in his sermon.

The exploits of former Chelsea stars Michael Essien and Marcel Desailly – both Ghanaians – have drawn a huge following for Chelsea in the West African country.

This results in massive rivalry between supporters of various English sides in the country with Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham having huge followers while West Ham has a growing fanbase because of their Ghanaian midfielder Andre Ayew.

So when the poster emerged few weeks ago over the pending church service, many thought it was meant to poke fun at supporters of their rival clubs.

But the promise was delivered complete with the pomp and pageantry and the religiousness Ghanaians attach to every facet of life including football matches in the local leagues and international matches.

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By: Rahman Osman/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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