President Akufo-Addo and Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings dancing to Gyedu-Blay Ambolley’s performance.
Picture By Gifty Ama Lawson
PRESIDENT AKUFO-Addo has expressed optimism about Ghana’s chances of coming out of its current economic issues.
Even though he admitted that the Russia-Ukraine war has devastated the Ghanaian economy like all others across the world, he outlined a series of measures including seeking the assistance of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the short term, to help fix the country’s finances.
As a man who believes in the ‘can do’ spirit of the Ghanaian, he said, “I am confident that we will revive and revitalise the economy and put our nation back on the path of rapid economic growth, a scenario we had become accustomed to in the last three immediate years before the pandemic struck.”
This was when he joined senior citizens to observe the Founders’ Day in Accra yesterday, saying, “I remain resolutely optimistic about Ghana’s future, which I continue to believe is bright.”
Since the attainment of independence 65 years ago, he said “we have bemoaned the fact that our nation has not lived up to its vast potential and countries, especially those in south east Asia such as Korea and Malaysia, which gained their independence at the same time as we did have outstripped us in terms of development.”
He, however, noted that “in spite of the many obstacles that we have had to surmount including prolong periods of instability and military rule, fueled by several coup d’états, one thing I continue to be proud of is the can-do spirit of the Ghanaian and our determination not to be backed down by events and allow the circumstances and challenges of today to shape our collective future.”
He used the occasion to honour Ghanaians who he said have distinguished themselves in various fields of endeavour, including those who supported his government’s efforts at fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
The formal ceremony where the President is expected to confer the awards will take place at a later date.
The first category of the awards, which is the “Order of the Volta Companion”, will go to 16 members of the national COVID-19 task force, 12 trustees of the Ghana COVID-19 private sector fund and the inventor of the veronica bucket.
57 other Ghanaians including selected health sector workers, personnel from the Ghana Education Service, the Local Government Service and Security Services will be honoured with grand medal for operational excellence.
The second category of the awards, that is the “Presidential Award of Honour for Meritorious Service” will be presented to a total of 19,752 individuals comprising frontline and allied health workers, 32 religious bodies and institutions, and eight members of the COVID-19 National Trust Fund.
The remaining recipients, according to the President, are 58 members of the technical support team of the COVID-19 private sector fund and 26 companies who changed their production lines to manufacture hand sanitisers to lessen the country’s dependence on foreign imports.
BY Charles Takyi-Boadu