Ghana’s 58th Independence Day celebration has triggered a call on government to implement stringent measures to seal off administrative leakages being exploited by some people leading to huge financial loss to the state.

Though the interviewees say the day is worth celebrating, steps ought to be taken to address perceived corruption in the public sector, improve the power supply and block leakages, which make it possible for contract figures to be inflated and ghosts workers on public sector payrolls.

Rev Patrick Tuffour of the Ghana National Association of Teachers told the Ghana News Agency that Ghanaians had to jubilate for being free for years but appealed to every citizen to contribute his or her quota to the holistic development of the nation.

He said development should spread across the nation, ensuring that there is an “equitable and perfect” distribution of resources to improve the quality of lives of citizens through a better and adequate food, water, housing, education and access to health and security.

He commended President Mahama for appealing to Ghanaians to see religious and ethnic diversity as strength for national cohesion and development rather than weaknesses which tend to divide the people through acrimony and hatred.

President John Dramani said at the 58th independence celebration on Friday: "Our diversity must be a source of strength and not weakness and should not be a ground for tearing us apart,"

But Rev Tuffour called for deconstruction and declassifying of some regions or tribes as belonging to some political parties, saying such tags contributed greatly to unnecessary hatred and acrimony and must stop immediately.

Mr Abdulai Nayam, a teacher, also lauded achievement of the nation since independence but said more needed to be done to change the dwindling fortunes such as bad attitude, lack of patriotism, corruption and failed leadership.

He said the first President of Ghana, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, though had his own weaknesses, contributed a lot to national development goals but successive governments had failed woefully to continue the legacy.

He blamed the high unemployment, power crisis and myriad national problems on bad leadership.