General News of Saturday, 11 March 2006

Source: GNA

Ghanaians opinion about Independence

Sunyani(B/A) March 11, GNA - A cross section of people interviewed in Sunyani have urged Ghanaians to do away with ethnicity, political factionalism, religious intolerance, apathy, indiscipline and resolve to work harder towards national prosperity. Most opinion leaders in the regional capital, stressed that there was no way Ghana would develop to an appreciable level if a solution was not found to the problem of inferiority complex "rooted in every facet of our national life".

"The time is ripe for Ghanaians and for that matter, Africans to discard this feeling of low self-esteem and start believing in ourselves

and what we can do. "Mr. Kofi Annan, a Ghanaian and an African is the United Nations Secretary General. We must learn to take a cue from him and move forward", one of them said.

The GNA made the random sampling of views and opinions of Ghanaians about the nation's progress and development as she gears up to celebrate her golden jubilee next year.

Speaking on the need to improve state-church relationship for national development, the Right Reverend Thomas Ampah Brient, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Sunyani, admonished the Christian Council to effectively play its arbitrary role of monitoring and providing meaningful suggestions on issues of national interest.

He appealed to the government to set up committees to censor films and musical lyrics that, he said promote sexual promiscuity, particularly among the youth.

Mr. William Yaw Oppong, a private legal practitioner, called for the promotion of good governance and the rule of law to deepen and help sustain the present democratic dispensation. He stressed the need for dedicated and committed people to establish factories and industries to offer employment to the teeming unemployed youth for the long-term boosting of the national economy.

"If one wants to go into palm plantation, he should be dedicated and focused on the long-term gains and not the short-term," he said.

The legal practitioner suggested that although each political party had its programmes for development, there was the need for a national development policy that would be an appendage of all political parties. He appealed to Ghanaians to be honest with themselves in handling investment portfolios to win the confidence of foreign investors.