Ghana, 65 years on,Time for economic independence- Says PNC, APC, LPG
Three political parties have stated that Ghana needs new, bold and systematic policies capable of bringing about economic independence 65 years after it gained political independence.
In separate interviews, the People's National Convention (PNC), the All People's Congress (APC) and the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) said it was about time leaders of the country reflected and realised that the times were not the best of moments.
Advertisement
The General Secretary of the PNC, Janet Nabla, while wishing Ghanaians a happy 65th independence anniversary, said Ghana's independence as proclaimed by Dr Kwame Nkrumah was meant for Ghana to manage her own affairs.
The party contended that the road so far had not been that smooth and that Ghana was moving slowly in the quest to attain the needed development to improve the standards of living of the people.
She said Ghana could hasten in achieving the needed development with the right mindset and right leadership.
“The PNC is worried about the recent proposition of a coup by a section of Ghanaians. We would like to remind fellow Ghanaians that a coup has never been and would not be beneficial to us as a country,” Ms Nabla said.
She urged all well-meaning Ghanaians to constructively criticise the government and offer solutions to the current economic challenges.
“We in the PNC assure Ghanaians that our future government shall create an economy that will be resilient to any form of shocks, both internal and external, by boosting production of goods and services and stimulating the appropriate demands needed,” she said.
APC
The Founder and Leader of the APC, Hassan Ayariga, said at independence, Ghana had a relatively good economy compared to the situation at hand today, stressing that even though the nation gained political independence, she was yet to attain economic freedom.
He said Ghanaian leaders over the period had only believed in short-term results rather than long-term solutions to the emerging problems, coupled with corruption and mismanagement of the economy.
He, therefore, called for a non-partisan effort to find alternative ways of making life more comfortable for Ghanaians.
"We believe that it was about time Ghanaians voted out the two dominant parties and gave opportunities to other parties such as the APC to change the narrative and develop Ghana," Mr Ayariga said.
He bemoaned the fact that Ghana remained heavily dependent on imports instead of pursuing the manufacturing and production agenda set out by the first President of the country.
He said now more than ever, Ghana needed an all-hands-on-deck approach “to salvage the unbearable fuel price hikes and the free fall of the cedi”.
LPG
The National Organiser of the LPG, Yaw Asane Tano, said: “If we look back to when independence was attained, the vision was to become a truly independent country, the foundation that was laid was unfortunately truncated by a group of people who felt threatened in Europe, and used some elements within the country to disrupt and overthrow Dr Nkrumah's government”.
He said at independence, Ghana had a relatively good economy as the country set out to create and extend its control over the economy by establishing a large number of state-owned enterprises targeted at creating jobs and offering economic independence, but all those efforts had collapsed.
“We at the LPG believe that Ghana should revisit the blueprint started by Dr Nkrumah and the founding fathers of the nation in order to make progress,” he said.
The LPG also called on the current administration to revisit and consider the 40-year National Development Plan developed and handed over by the previous administration, stressing that “that document has all the answers to many of Ghana's problems today”.
Writer’s email: [email protected]
