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GHANA @ 50 LAUNCHED IN LONDON
NANA SIFA TWUM/ ISAAC AMO-KYEREME
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THE visit to the UK by the President, J.A. Kufour will be the high point of Ghana's 50th independence anniversary cerebrations in the United Kingdom.
The president who will arrive in the UK on the 13th of March this year for a week's state visit to the UK will hold talks with Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth 11 and other high ranking political figures.
President Kufour would use the visit, which is at the invitation of the Queen to meet a cross-section of the Ghanaian community in the UK to celebrate the anniversary with them.
Ghana's High Commissioner to the UK His Excellency Mr. Annan Arkyin Cato made the disclosure at the formal lunch of Ghana's Golden independence golden jubilee celebrations in London. |
He observed that the bond between the two countries calls for such honour from the Queen.
He said Ghana's independence gave its nationals a new confidence to work harder for improvements in their living conditions.
The occasion also “encouraged all people of colour to discover their inner strength to reject policies, attitudes and practices that had for centuries held them under bondage and subjected them to conditions of humiliation and cruelty”. He observed.
The High Commissioner extolled Dr. Kwame Nkrumah's independence declaration which helped to stir and brought hope to a sleepy continent and stressed that Ghana's leadership role and the sacrifices she made ensured the total liberation of the African continent”.
Mr. Cato used the occasion to unveil the calendar of events that would be organised in the UK in commemoration of the jubilee. He also seized the opportunity to relaunch the redesigned the website of the Mission.
As the first Black African country to attain self-rule of South of the Sahara, Mr. Annan Cato asserted that Ghana's independence had wider ramifications for the world. He said the groundbreaking event ushered in a “new era of respect and recognition for the capabilities of the people of African descent, re-energised the civil right movement in the US and fuelled agitations for self-rule across the length and breath of Africa”.
Recounting Ghana's chequered political history over the last 50 years, Mr. Annan Cato said Ghana lost a cream of highly skilled professionals due to the draconian policies of the past.
He said Ghanaians have however clawed back over the past decade by embracing constitutionalism and had resolved not to allow their fundamental rights to be violated or trampled upon. He also referred to the impressive performance of the Ghanaian economy and attributed this to the wise and prudent policies of President Kufuor's administration.
In the new Ghana today, the High Commissioner said “the confidence of the people had been revived and the resurgence of our economy had brought back the smiles of our people”.
Ghana's envoy said that Ghana currently enjoyed tremendous goodwill in the UK and in the international community and described the invitation of President Kufuor by the Queen as a testimony of the high esteem in which Ghana and its leadership were held.
In a short address, Lee Jasperr, Director of Equalities & Policing, Greater London Authority, lauded the trail-blazing role charted by Ghana in the history of Africa and asserted that Ghana was still the 'shining star' of black people all over the world. He congratulated Ghana on its memorable achievements and expressed the hope that Ghana would make greater strides in the coming 50 years. In a contribution a renowned Ghanaian broadcaster and PR consultant, Kwasi Kyei Darkwah suggested the renaming of the countries premier and international airport to befit a statesman whose contribution to the nation's independence is meaningful.
KKD as he is affectionately called argued that since Kotoka after who the monument is named after overthrew the very government and person who fought for Ghana's independence, “naming our entry point after Kotoka sends a mixed signal to the world, and it leaves much to be desired".
According to him many tourists who would be 'celebrating this occasion with us will be asking who this Kotoka was. What do we tell them about Kotoka? The ace media personality enquired. KKD who is currently trading his profession in the UK expressed the fear that the name of the airport is sending 'dangerous' signals to the younger generations.
A UK based Ghanaian journalist, Bernard Otabil called on the government to work hard to ensure the total eradication of poverty in the country, adding that 'the independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked to the total eradication of poverty'.
The Editor of the AFRICAN ECHO, Isaac Amo-Kyereme called on GhanaÕs government to partner the airlines flying to Ghana over the celebration and arrange for special discounted fares to enable as many Ghanaians abroad as possible to travel home for the memorable occasion.
He observed that though the invitation has gone through the Joseph project for all people of African descent to come home, if the airfares are as prohibitive as they are when compared to flying to for instance the Gambia, not many sons and daughters of the continent can come home to assist in the developmental efforts of Ghana.
About a hundred journalists and stake holders within the Ghanaian community were present at the launch.
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