President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has bemoaned the country’s underdevelopment in relation to its peers including Malaysia, South Korea but maintains the country can still take charge of its destiny.

Addressing the nation during the 61st Independence Anniversary celebrations at the Black Stars Square in Accra on Tuesday, he indicated that it is time the country break away from dependence and aim to build a prosperous nation.

“We have under achieved relative to our peers.., even though we have underachieved it should not be part of our destiny….we must define and craft our own destiny” the President said in his address.

The theme for Ghana’s 61st independence celebration is “Ghana Beyond Aid”, and President Akufo-Addo held that this mantra will be key to changing Ghana’s destiny for the better.

“Achieving our destiny requires a deliberate, qualitative change in all aspects of our lives; especially, in the structure of our economy, the nature of our infrastructure, the education of our young people and acquisition of skills and above all, in our attitudes and holding firm to the values that define us.

“The change in our fortunes will only happen when our economies improve. Since I became President, I have been advocating for a Ghana, indeed, an Africa Beyond Aid, and I am keen to have the support of all of us in this enterprise,” he stated.

According to the President, he will continue to run the economy in a disciplined way to ensure sound macro-economic stability.

The President also indicated that the growth rate of the country has ascended from 3.6 percent in 2016 to 7.9 percent in 2017 and is expected to inch up to 8.3 percent by the end of the year.