President John Evans Atta Mills on Thursday said Ghana was stable and reasonably in good health, with the economy full of promise.

He said the government was making substantial progress in the economy even though there was still a lot of work to be done.

In a State of the Nation Address, titled “Still Building a Better Ghana” to Parliament in Accra, President Mills gave hope to Ghanaians saying that much had been achieved in the pursuance of the government’s ‘Better Ghana’ Agenda.

The address is in fulfilment of Article 67 of the 1992 Constitution, which requires the President, at the beginning of each session of Parliament to deliver a message on the State of the Nation.

President Mills’ message contained in a 29-page brochure, touched on the global economy, macro economy, education at the basic, second cycle and tertiary education, science, communication and innovation, human resource and job creation.

Other areas were agriculture, cocoa and other cash crops, water, energy, rural electrification, oil and gas, Single Spine Salary Structure, special development areas, health and security, law and order, governance, youth and sports, Parliament, Constitutional Review Commission, issues about drugs, justice and Election 2012.

He commended the leadership of the political parties for responding to the call for peace but called for more prayers for peace with a show of genuine commitment by utterance and actions.

“Let us all remember that the stability we enjoy as a country can turn instantly to brittleness if we fail to be circumspect and if we fail to hold in check those who may want to hold the country to ransom,” President Mills said.

President Mills assured Ghanaians that the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) would not put its electioneering campaign ahead and at the expense of national duties and pushing the Better Ghana Agenda.

“We will not sacrifice the gains we have made on the economic front on the altar of election year politics. Ghana must grow and Ghana will grow only if we take bold and courageous decisions. “

President Mills urged political parties to be willing to synthesise the best ideas from both sides of the House for the advancement of the country and put aside what he called unnecessary partisanship and keep in mind the big picture of how to sustain together the nation’s middle income status through sustainable economic development.

“Let us always bear in mind that as a people, we have much more common ground than we make it seem.”

Present in the public gallery were former President Jerry John Rawlings and wife Nana Konadu, members of Council of State, the diplomatic community, traditional rulers, security agencies and religious leaders.

Members of the largest Minority, New Patriotic Party (NPP), dressed in mourning attire in protest against perceived corruption, chanted a catch phrase “Gargantuan Munkye Ndi” (Gaurgantuan, share the booty among yourselves).

Standing, they showed a red card to President Mills at the end of the address while the majority side chanted “cocaine.”