President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Sunday, January 7, 2018, re-echoed government’s commitment to resolving Ghana's democratic and structural challenges to put the country on the path of sustained progress and prosperity.
He said government remained resolute in its goal of fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of Ghanaians, who yearn for improvements in their living standards, security and solidarity.
President Akufo-Addo said this at the Interfaith National Thanksgiving Service at the Independence Square in Accra to mark the Silver Jubilee of the Fourth Republic.
The Anniversary was commemorated on the theme: "25 Years of the Fourth Republic - Celebrating the Goodness of The Lord".
The historic event, held under an atmosphere of unity, brought together the former Presidents of the Fourth Republic; Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, John Agyekum Kufuor, and John Dramani Mahama, as well as Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, the Speaker of Parliament Prof. Mike Ocquaye and Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo.
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It also drew members of the Legislature, Judiciary, the Clergy (Christian and Moslem), security services, political parties, identifiable groups, as well as government officials, traditional rulers, and people from all walks of life.
President Akufo-Addo expressed optimism that with a spirit of reconciliation, fairness, integrity and hard work permeating the workings of the country, "the best days of Mother Ghana lie ahead of us."
“We can hope for a brighter future because we are blessed with enormous wealth and human potential.
![Justice Jones Dotse in white [left] and Justice William Atuguba in smock [right] at the National Thanksgiving Service](/images/Politics_Republic_Anniversary_2.jpg "Justice Jones Dotse in white [left] and Justice William Atuguba in smock [right] at the National Thanksgiving Service")
"Together, we are laying 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 our nation was conceived," he said.
The President said his government had begun to take a deep look at the structure of the Ghanaian economy to transform it from a raw material producing and exporting one to a value-added industrialised economy with a modernised agriculture to serve the needs of the country.
“The era of Ghana’s industrialisation has dawned so that we can trade in the global marketplace, not on the basis of raw materials, but on the basis of things we make, inspired by our sense of enterprise, creativity and innovation.
"It is the most effective way we can generate jobs and wealth for the masses of our people, and join the ranks of the developed and prosperous nations of the world,†he noted.
With Ghana experiencing the longest, uninterrupted period of stable, constitutional governance in its history, President Akufo-Addo said the period "had banished the spectre of instability that disfigured the early years of Ghana’s existence, and the benefits are showing."
He said Ghana had witnessed sustained growths in the size of the economy; rising levels of per capita real incomes; systematic expansion of the private sector; and taken strong measures to try to protect her lands, water bodies and the environment from the menace of environmental degradation.
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However, there was much more to do to get the country on the pedestal it deserves, and his administration would not relent in ensuring that the rule of law, probity and accountability, respect for individual liberties, human rights, and the principles of democratic accountability and social justice were deepened, he said.
President Akufo-Addo commended previous administrations, the Legislature, the Judiciary, government and governance institutions, the security services and the entirety of the Ghanaian people for their role in the success of the Fourth Republic.
Prayers were said for peace, progress and stability of the nation.
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primenewsghana.com/Ghana News