Ghana Golden Jubilee Anniversary Celebrations Launched In The UK
His Excellency Mr. Annan Arkyin Cato, Ghana’s High Commissioner to the UK has said in London that Ghana’s independence gave its nationals a new confidence to work harder for improvements in their living conditions.

He observed that 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”.

The High Commissioner extolled 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. Annan Cato made the statement at the formal launch of Ghana’s golden jubilee celebrations in the UK. High Commissioner Annan 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 re-launch the redesigned the website of the Mission.

Among dignitaries present at the launch were Mr. Lee Jasper, Policy Director of Equalities and Policing, Office of the Mayor of London; Councillor Paul Kyriacou, Mayor of Southwark; Mr. Adolphus Arthur, Deputy High Commissioner and Chairman of Ghana@50 Committee UK; Mr. Kobina Hughes, Head of Commercial and Procurement Law, The Mayor’s office; Mr. Kwame Adu, Chairman of Ghana Union London and Jacine Cooper of Black Cultural Archives.

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 ground-breaking event ushered in a “new era of respect and recognition for 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 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.

Launching the newly revamped site of the Ghana High Commission, the High Commissioner said the site which could be accessed at www.ghanahighcommissionuk.com had been redesigned to serve the needs of the Ghanaian community in the UK.

In his address, Lee Jasper 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.

A cross section of the guests expressed views and posed questions on the presentation. Some of the issues raised by guests centred on the inclusion of the youth in the anniversary programme calls for a special anniversary travel package to attract visitors to Ghana for the celebrations and the need to evolve strategies to combat poverty in Ghana.