H.E Mr Isaac Osei presents a set of publications on Ghana to Ms Comfort Osei, International Facilitator of the group after the visit

CULTURAL DIVERSITY IS A DRIVING FORCE BEHIND NATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION EFFORT – SAYS GHANA’S ENVOYS TO THE UK

H.E. Mr. Isaac Osei, Ghana’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom has said in London that the strength Ghana derived from its cultural diversity was the driving force behind the nation’s reconstruction process.
He said the NPP Government whose philosophy was deeply rooted in liberal democratic traditions and principles had forged “a new sense of nationhood in which ethnicity is no longer perceived as an obstacle to socio-economic development.”
Mr. Isaac Osei made the comments during a courtesy call by Turning Point (TP), a London based Voluntary Organisation which offers training in community and youth programmes with sponsorship from the Lewisham Borough and Goldsmith College, University of London.
Mr. Isaac Osei assured the group that “Ghanaians are naturally warm and hospitable people who consider Africans in the Diaspora as an extension of the larger African family.”
Present at the meeting were Mr. Kwabena Baah-Duodu, Ghana’s Deputy High Commissioner to the UK and Mr. Fritz Andoh, Minister Counsellor/Information. Mr. A.K. Arthur, Head of Chancery at the Ghana High Commission. Amongst the members of Turning Point were Alvan Wright, International Visit Chairperson, Pauline Kennedy, International Visit Co-ordinator, and Comfort Osei, International Facilitator.
On current development trends in Ghana and the principal policy thrust of the NPP Government, the High Commissioner emphasised that reducing poverty was the overriding concern of the Administration.
In pursuit of this cardinal object, Mr. Isaac Osei, stated the Government’s rural development strategy was aimed at revamping education, enhancing health delivery and improving the provision of rural infrastructure particularly roads and water.
The High Commissioner observed that the newly established Ministry for Women’s Affairs had made significant progress in empowering women to pursue small-scale economic ventures by facilitating access to micro credit.
He added that the office of the Minister of State Responsible for Girl-Child Education has also making strides in narrowing the wide gap which had hitherto existed between school enrolment rates for boys and girls. “These interventions are systematically targeted at integrating the rural communities into the broad national economy in line with Government’s vision to usher the country into an era of prosperity and wealth creation” declared the High Commissioner.
On the planned reforms in the water sector, the Ghanaian envoy stressed privatisation of water delivery systems and maintaining affordability were key concerns in the on-going debate on the development of the sector.
Alvan Wright thanked the High Commissioner on behalf of Turning Point (TP) for the warm reception accorded them. She expressed the hope that their contributions during the planned trip to Ghana would go a long way to improve living conditions at the grass-root level.
Others issues discussed at the meeting included the state of the health sector, sourcing assistance for community development programmes and modalities for clearing donated items duty free in Ghana.