...Kufuor Tells Ghanaians On 46th Independence Anniversary
Ghana celebrated her 46th Independence Day Anniversary with parades of school children and the security services throughout the country.

In Accra, the parade was held at the Independence Square and was reviewed by President J.A. Kufuor. The guest of honour was the Cote d'Ivoire President, Mr. Laurent Gbagbo who was in Accra to attend a peace conference in connection with the civil unrest in his country. Also present were the sub-regional military chiefs who were in Ghana to attend the annual conference of ECOWAS security agencies.

President Kufuor's brief Independence Day message dwelt mainly on the need for peace, unity, security and stability. He acknowledged the problems facing his Ivorien counterpart but called on all the sides in the conflict to work towards lasting peace in Cote d'Ivoire so that the country would go back to its once place of pre-eminence in the sub-region.

Turning to the home front he made reference to a Ghanaian saying that "Money does not like noise". By this the president explained that progress would only come about in an atmosphere of peace, unity and stability. When there is peace and quiet, he said, the Ghanaian would make money and keep it at home and foreigners would find Ghana a peaceful haven to bring their money to invest.

He congratulated the school children and security agencies and asked the school children especially to use the parade as a guide to the way they do things, for like a march past, if one person is out of step, the march would end in confusion.

Just before 11 a.m., the parade drew to a close and after the national anthems of Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana, the Ghanaian president departed the parade grounds with his Ivorien guest. Yesterday's review was the president's second since he came to power. The first was in 2001, just two months after being sworn in as president. The 2002 parade was reviewed by the Vice President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, when the President was attending the CHOGM in Australia.