President Nana Akufo-Addo says Ghana’s democratic governance system, which is celebrated today, was not bestowed upon the nation at its independence.
According to him, “whatever we have today, we have worked out for ourselves.”
He said this during his address on Wednesday, March 6, at the Youth Resource Centre in Koforidua, while marking the nation’s 67th Independence Day celebration.
President Akufo-Addo stated that British rule did not prepare Ghana for democracy, emphasising that colonial rule inherently lacks democratic principles.
He explained that all the fundamental elements of Ghana’s current democratic governance had to be fashioned by the nation itself.
“Everything we know about elections today, we have learnt through hard practice, and, in the past thirty-one (31) years, we have been stable,” he added.
While acknowledging that the system is not perfect, he noted that each election in the Fourth Republic has shown improvement.
The President acknowledged that Ghana still has much to learn, especially regarding the tolerance of opposing views.
He, however, cautioned against relapsing, citing examples of countries that descended into chaos due to disputed elections.
“We know that technology is a useful tool that we must embrace to make the electoral process more transparent, but we are very much aware that technology also now makes it possible and easier for the deliberate manipulation and propagation of falsehood to influence public opinion.
“When it comes to free speech and a vigorous media as indicators of a working democracy, I believe we can say we are doing well. There is no danger of dissenting voices not being heard on any subject, even though we still have more work to do on elevating the quality of public discourse,” the President said.
President Akufo-Addo also highlighted the nation’s practice of taking disputes to the courts for resolution, and operating within agreed and acceptable rules.
“When we look around our neighbourhood, we might be tempted to think that our work is done, but we, Ghanaians, have never been known to settle for mediocrity. We aim for the best in every field. We should compare ourselves with the best that there is, and not settle for anything less. For as long as there is poverty and injustice anywhere in Ghana, our work is not done,” he added.
