Ghana can make major strides if citizens stopped dabbling in petty ethnic and partisan divisions, President John Mahama has observed.

Mr Mahama, who met the Ghanaian community in Germany after his two-day state visit to the European country said: “This country is moving forward and if we are just able to count the blessings and the successes that we have then we can build on those successes.”

“The German people have built their country because they had a strong belief that after the World War when everything was destroyed that they could rebuild their country and make it what they could be proud of.

“If [we] Ghanaians could have the kind of enthusiasm and zeal that the Germans had and believe in our country and stop petty ethnic and partisan divisions, I’m sure that our country would move forward,” Mr Mahama told the Ghanaian community.

Ghana’s two main political parties – governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) easily politicise every issue in the country.Virtually all media discussions of national issues in the media are clothed in either NDC or NPP colours.The two parties also have their strongholds in two separate ethnic zones – Volta and Ashanti regions – which have always, predominantly voted for their respective parties.As a result of this, virtually all Ewe-speaking Ghanaians are automatically branded as NDC members while all Akan-speaking people in the country are also, automatically seen as belonging to the NPP.

Mr Mahama believes this kind of ethnic and partisan politics draw Ghana back in terms of development as a nation.Before meeting the Ghanaian community, Mr Mahama held discussions with the Federal President of Germany, Joachim Gauck on Monday and also with Chancellor Angela Merkel.Among his entourage are Foreign Minister Hanna S. Tetteh, Communications Minister Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, Education Minister Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyeman and Ghana's Ambassador to Germany, Akua Sena Dansua.