Transparency, accountability critical for advancing Ghana’s democratic journey

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged citizens to strive to enhance transparency and accountability in the governance structures as part of efforts to sustain democratic governance.

He noted that it was also necessary to build strong institutions that could fight corruption and the dissipation of public funds, saying this was critical to prolonging the country’s democratic journey.

“We must do everything within our means to safeguard our democracy,” President Nana Akufo-Addo said while addressing the nation to mark the 30th Anniversary of Ghana’s Fourth Republic.

The people, he advised, should continue to work to create the platform for the evolution of a new Ghanaian civilisation – which will give true meaning to the foundational values of freedom and justice on which the nation was birthed.

“Thirty years ago, all of us resolved to build, under God, a united nation, grounded in democratic values and the rule of law,” he stated.

“We have advanced a great deal in realising this vision, and I am confident that, with a spirit of fairness, hard work, integrity and reconciliation, the best days of Mother Ghana lie ahead of us.”

On corruption, he said his Administration had undertaken, arguably, the boldest initiatives since independence to reform and strengthen the capacity of the mandated institutions to tackle corruption in the public sector.

These include the financial empowerment of the anti-corruption bodies, the passage of the Right to Information Act, which previous administrations had been unable to effect, and the establishment of the Office of Special Prosecutor, an independent, non-partisan body, with the relevant professional capability and exclusive mandate to investigate and prosecute acts of corruption.

“We do not have to look far back into history to see that a stable period of constitutional government and intelligent management of the economy lead to prosperity,” the President said.

He noted that even though the country was now confronted with difficulties in its 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.”

Ghana, the first sub-Saharan African country to have gained independence from British colonial rule in 1957, continues to be a shining example to other countries in respect of upholding the tenets of democratic rule and dispensation.

Having its constitutional rule under the First, Second and Third Republics curtailed by military interventions, the country has since 1992, after ushering in the Fourth Republican Constitution, demonstrated tenacity of purpose regarding the advancement of the Rule of Law and democratic governance.

This development, the President said, had “inspired the longest period of stable constitutional governance in our history, with a consensus emerging strongly that the democratic form of governance is preferable, and the benefits are showing.”

Source: GNA