President of Ghana His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwah Akuffo Addo has stated that Ghana as a nation has underachieved in the area of economic development when it comes to matching up to countries it attained independence with.
As a result of this, he has charged Ghanaians to develop a change in their attitude of dependency on foreign aid.
He added that this change will aid the country to improve its economic stability.
“In the area of economic development, we have underachieved, relative to our peers at Independence. Even though underachievement has been a part of our history thus far, it should no longer be part of our destiny…this requires that we break from the mindset of dependency and manifest a can-do spirit fueled by love for our dear country Ghana”
He further advised Ghanaians to work together in protecting the environment to help do away with activities that cause harm to the environment such as “illegal mining” known as Galamsey among others
“Moving Ghana beyond Aid means that ensuring the generations of Ghanaians have a healthy environment to inherit. We must protect our environment and water bodies by joining hands against uncontrolled deforestation and illegal mining known as Galamsey in order to bring to an end the devastation of our landscape and the pollution of our water bodies”
President Akufo-Addo was speaking at opening ceremony the 71st Annual New Year school and conference held at the Great Hall of the University of Ghana, Legon under the theme “Attaining Ghana Beyond Aid: Challenges and Prospects.”
Aim of the annual new year school and conference.
For the past 70 years, the School of Continuing and Distance Education of the University of Ghana has successfully organized the Annual New Year School and Conference.
Each year, the event serves as a forum where issues of national interest and concern are discussed on a broader theme, with sub-themes.
The annual event brings together ministers of state, captains of industry, academia, labour union leaders and participants from all walks of life to deliberate on issues of national interest and make recommendations that will shape policy.
At the end of every school and conference, a communiqué is issued which captures the recommendations of participants and discussants which inform policy decisions and directions in the country.
In 2017, the school discussed the economy and agriculture, whose recommendations significantly shaped what is now known as the ‘Planting for Food and Jobs’.
By: Khadijah Abdul Latif | universnewsroom
