Constitution Day: 4 Key Takeaways From President Akufo-Addo’s Address To The Nation

• Nana Akufo-Addo has admonished Ghanaians to safeguard the nation's peace on the 30th anniversary of the 4th Republic of Ghana
• The president also acknowledged that accountability by the government was crucial for deepening democracy and says his administration has instituted some of the boldest initiatives to fighting graft and pillaging of public funds
• Nana Akufo-Addo noted that Ghana's democracy will live long because Ghanaians have always strived to live in freedom and justice, which is better guaranteed in a democracy

President Nana Akufo-Addo addressed the nation on January 6, 2023 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the 4th Republic.

Marked on January 7 every year as Constitution Day, state celebrates Ghana's decision to pursue multiparty democracy after years of military rule.

In the address that lasted about 12 minutes, the president touched on a number of issues including the need to safeguard Ghana's democracy at all cost.

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Taking congnisance of the current socioeconomic challenges, Nana Akufo-Addo also said his government was committed to bringing Ghana back to prosperity.

Here are the 4 key takeaways from Akufo-Addo's Constitution Day address

Ghanaians have always demonstrated a desire to live in freedom

The president traced back the efforts of Ghanaians since the 1940s to attain freedom from the adverse conditions of colonial rule.

Nana Akufo-Addo acknowledged that that desire to live in freedom and justice never waned until the promulgation of the 1992 Constitution and the start of the 4th Republic.

"We showed again in the 1990s after the initial decades of turbulence in our national life our determination to live in conditions of freedom and democracy. So it was that on 28th April 1992...we approved, by an overwhelming margin the referendum...in favour of the adoption of the constitution for the 4th republic," the president said.

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Ghana must do everything to safeguard the current democracy

The president also said his administration was ready to fight and sustain the current democratic dispensation and urged Ghanaians to also do so. He said this is important because there some members of the public who do not fully support democracy.

"We’ve come a long way, and we should not take it for granted that everybody in Ghana has accepted democracy as the preferred mode of governance. There are those that would rather have authoritarian rule because they claim our country is underdeveloped and democracy is cumbersome and that we need to get things done in a hurry," he said.

We must work to bring Ghana back to prosperity

Acknowledging the current economic hardship, the president said Ghanaians must lend support to the his government to revive the economy and set it again on the path of growth and prosperity.

"Even though we are presently confronted with difficulties in our economic performance, I do not doubt our collective resolve to work our way out of these challenges, and put our nation back onto the path of progress and prosperity,” Akufo-Addo appealed.

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He said he was confident that with a spirit of fairness, hard work, integrity and reconciliation, the best days lie ahead.

Government is committed to the principles of accountability and fighting corruption

Furthermore, Nana Akufo-Addo said he knows for fact that in order to sustain the current democracy his government and any other government after his must promote transparency and accountability.

He said it was imperative that the state builds strong institutions that can fight corruption, stressing that his administration has done its fair share.

“I say, without any form of equivocation, that my government has undertaken, arguably, the boldest initiatives since independence to reform and strengthen the capacity of our institutions to tackle corruption in the public sector,” he said.

Ofori-Atta appointed Caretaker Minister For Trade Ministry As Akufo-Addo Accepts Alan Kyerematen’s Resignation

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh has reported in a separate story that finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has been appointed the caretaker minister for trade.

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This followed the acceptance of Alan Kyerematen’s resignation from the portfolio.

A statement communicating the decision of the president said the minister will act in that stead till a substantive appointment is made.

Source: YEN.com.gh