..that post uncomplimentary stories
Accra, Jan. 31, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Tuesday referred to findings of a study that rank Ghana as the 10th happiest country in the world and criticised certain websites which continue to post "very uncomplimentary stories" about the country on the Internet.

"Mr Speaker, pride and love for one's country are what is expected of its citizens," he told Ghanaians in his State of the Nation address to Parliament.

"As Ghanaians, our destinies are inextricably linked with that of the country which bestows on us sovereign rights of citizenship," he said.

President Kufuor said peace could not be taken for granted. "This is precisely why we must not cynically denigrate the country, or the government and the institutions that strive to uphold these rights. Indeed, rights must always be exercised with responsibility." President Kufuor said deliberately or inadvertently, such uncomplimentary stories tended to undermine the integrity and image of the country and its institutions.

He noted that the whole world was in competition for investment capital, "and this act, which drives away potential investors, is unfortunate".

"We must realise that the strength and beauty of democracy lie in the power of choice. We must be careful not to let people who do not subscribe to the tenets of democracy take advantage of the freedoms guaranteed thereunder to subvert democracy."