Ghana@68: What Have We Used Our ‘Independence’ Power To Gain? – ASEPA Boss ‘Cries’
Mensah Thompson, Executive Director of the Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA), has expressed concerns over Ghana’s 68 years of independence.
Ghana gained independence on 6th March, 1957 and has since been managing her own affairs.
From military coups to democratic reforms, all successive governments have tried to make the nation self-reliant but Ghana continues to primarily rely on foreign aids and imports to survive as a country.
Mensah Thompson, commenting on the 68th anniversary of Ghana’s Independence Day celebrations this year held at the Jubilee House, wondered if Ghana has achieved the aim and significance of her freedom.
Focusing on the cocoa and mineral sectors among other issues, the ASEPA boss was alarmed that the country still relies on grants and has to keep paying off debts despite her rich minerals and resources that, if harnessed in the interest of the nation, would hugely benefit the populace.
To him, the country’s independence has yielded no fruits.
“…we have discovered lithium. Go and look at the deal we are trying to sign with this lithium and see if indeed that is how best we can harness this resource potential”, he lamented.
He further whined about the Ghana’s state saying “we are largely still a raw material producing country which is what the colonial masters have always wanted us to be. So, the independence that we we fought for that we will be self-reliant to make decisions for ourselves to have control of our resources including our natural resources, that independence, for me has not bore any fruit.”
He continued; “…it is not about self-governance…If it is about self-governance alone, I don’t think we should have worried…It was about the effect of self-governance; what we were going to use the power of self-governance for.”
“68 years down the line, what have we used that power for?”, he queried.
He emphasized the need for the nation to redirect her energies to indeed become self-reliant.
“I think these celebrations, instead of becoming a marching parade, should be a forum to have serious conversations about the direction of our country”, he emphasized on Peace FM’s “Kokrokoo” show.
Source: Ghmessenger.com
