Right Honourable Speaker,

Your Excellency, the Vice President,

Your Ladyship, the Chief Justice,

Honourable Members of Parliament,

Since the start of the Fourth Republic, every President, in fulfillment of Article 67 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, has stood before this august house each year to address the state of our nation. It is my privilege, as President, to also stand before you today to present a message on the state of the nation.

I am pleased to be addressing the full house today, and I wish to thank all my parliamentary colleagues for the cooperation you have continually extended to me since I was sworn in as President. As a former Member of Parliament for twelve (12) years, I am always filled with a sense of nostalgia anytime I step onto the grounds of Parliament.

Mr. Speaker, we find ourselves at a unique place in history. Our beloved Ghana is a nation in transition. We are on the cusp of many exciting new opportunities. We are on the verge of fulfilling the promises our forefathers and foremothers made to us, and to the world, about the destiny of our country and the determination of our people.

We are in the midst of change. And change can often feel uncomfortable, especially as it pulls us away from the systems and practices with which we have become familiar, but are no longer serving our needs efficiently. Without change, Mr. Speaker, Ghana cannot grow. Change is what will propel us forward, as a nation, to all that lies ahead.

And these new opportunities will enable us to transform ourselves from a lower middle-income, import-dependent, developing country to a proud and robust, self-sufficient middle-income nation.

Mr. Speaker, we have been here before, as a nation. We have been in transition, pushing our way past doubt, and past darkness, to find the dawn of a new day. Ghana was created through change, a movement of the people in support of their collective vision.

And then Ghana went on to influence change on the African continent and in effect, the course of the world.

Mr. Speaker, last year in my first State of the Nation Address, I defined the four basic pillars around which my approach to governance and socio-economic transformation would revolve. They are: Putting People First; Building a Strong and Resilient Economy; Expanding Infrastructure for Growth; and, Maintaining Transparent and Accountable Governance.

Today, as I talk about where we are as a nation, I also want to talk about who we are as a nation. I want to talk about the richness and diversity of our talent and innovation. I want to talk about the strength of our determination as a people. It is a determination that has always guided us toward victory in all of our endeavours.

We are a nation of 24 million. That’s people not products. 24 million human lives, each one deserving access to the basic necessities of life; each one possessing unique ideas and skill sets to make Ghana better; each one holding more value to this country in its existence and potential than any other natural resource we have.

Mr. Speaker, this is why my government’s first priority is, and will continue to be, our people. At the core of every decision we make and every policy we implement is the understanding that it will have a direct and positive impact in the day-to-day lives of average Ghanaian citizens.

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