On the Occasion of Ambassador Dr. Kwame Bawuah-Edusei’s Visit to Massachusetts.

The Ghana's Ambassador to the U.S.A, Distinguished Guests, Nananom, Friends of Ghana, Fellow Ghanaians, I am greatly honored to talk about Ghana today as we proudly celebrate our country’s Golden Jubilee].

Last month, on February 8th 2007,His Excellency President J.A Kufuor delivered his State of the Nation Address to Parliament. Interestingly, this particular address coincided with the mid-term of his second term, and also with Ghana’s mid-century of independence, which put him at a critical point to make an honest assessment of not only his NPP government, but also of the nation as a whole. My talk this afternoon will draw quite a bit on the President’s address, recounting some of the major highlights of conditions in Ghana today.

Anybody who is interested in investing or settling in Ghana would no doubt be interested in knowing the present climate and environment, or prevailing conditions in the country. One way of knowing this is by assessing the country’s achievements and available opportunities.

We Ghanaians in the diaspora also need to know what is going on in the country in our absence, and even Ghanaians who live in Ghana need to be made aware of the government’s achievements.

It would be quite unrealistic to make any lasting assessment of achievements without acknowledging challenges facing the nation. As we often say, there is good news and bad news. The bad news first:

The high cost of fuel and inadequate supply of electric power indicate that the current energy crisis continues to plague industrial and economic activities, as well as the daily lives of Ghanaians.

Unemployment and underemployment are evident in the large number of young people on city streets, selling anything from PK chewing gum to handkerchiefs, and everything in between.

There have been pockets of internal conflict, resulting mainly from chieftaincy disputes. And then there is the menace of armed robbers, who pose a challenge to law enforcement and public safety.

The good news is government is doing something about these problems. The NPP government has chalked significant achievements on many fronts since assuming office little more than six years ago, and continues to take steps that have positioned Ghana for progressive and healthy growth in all sectors.

Last year, Ghana was ranked among the top ten developing countries in the world with the most favorable business and investing environments. Only two African nations made this list, with Ghana placing 9th, and Tanzania coming in at number 10. Just about two months ago, 36 foreigners were sworn in as naturalized Ghanaian citizens, showing that people actually want to settle in Ghana. This all bears testimony to the great strides the country has made in the last few years.

Regarding the problem of inadequate energy and power supply, the President in his address noted that projects in the private and public sectors are already under way to double the energy level in capacity within five years to cater for national economic and industrial needs for 20 hears.

He mentioned that the Volta River Authority is going to establish a 300 megawatt plant in Tema; the VRA is building another emergency plant by August; the Consortium of Mining Companies is also building a plant at Tema; and the Bui Hydroelectric Dam is to be built with the Chinese.

The President also indicated that research is on-going to find alternative sources of energy, such as solar and wind power, as well as energy from biological plants.

On the economic front, government has enacted various policies and implemented programs that have allowed a transformation of the economy from years of stagnation to the current growth rate of 6.2%. One can sense an undeniable vibrancy in the economy as galloping inflation has been tamed by more than 70% since 2000. Our currency the cedi has been stabilized, and the lending rate at commercial banks has dropped over 50% in the last 5 years. Significant private investments in the financial, industrial, agricultural and mining sectors have steadily streamed into the country.

In education, major reforms are going on that will eventually feed into human resource development. For example, the introduction of the Capitation Grant by which new schools are built and existing ones updated, the School Feeding Program, and the School Bussing Program have led to significant increases in school enrolment. The government’s goal is to achieve 100% enrolment by the year 2015. Highlights of the Educational Reform include the upgrading of facilities at the secondary school level, an accelerated program of construction and equipping of technical, vocational, and polytechnic institutions, the upgrading of all 28 Teacher Training Colleges, and the encouragement of private sector involvement in providing student housing. The establishment of numerous educational institutions, from nurseries and child care centers to universities testifies to the growth and potential of the educational sector.

With regard to social services, the delivery of various social services has been a priority for the government. For example, construction of water projects has been embarked upon on a massive scale throughout the country, in both urban and rural areas; affordable health care is being made accessible to the whole population with the introduction and implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme; and the fight against HIV/AIDS is succeeding, with the prevalent rate down to 2.7%, from 3.1%.

Another noteworthy achievement is infrastructure development. The development of the infrastructure has been phenomenal, and today, there is evidence of vigorous construction work all over the country. New roads have been built, and still many more are in the process of being built. Notable among them are the Accra-Kumasi, Accra-Cape Coast, Accra-Abury-Koforidua, Agona Nkwanta-Tarkwa, Kumasi-Techiman, and Bamboi-Tinga roads.

Some people look at Ghana today and see our bottle as half-empty. Those are the pessimists. We ought to see it as half-full. Yes, we still have problems, but many of them are not unique to Ghana.

We Ghanaians have many reasons to be optimistic, because we have embraced an adherence to the rule of law based on democratic principles. We have freedom of the Press, freedom of opinion, freedom of speech, freedom of association, and many other freedoms.

We are a people of hope who are on course to forge a brighter future for ourselves and our children. Ghana today is undergoing a process of deep transformation, and this will take some time. This is really the era of positive change for Ghana, and as the President put it, “GHANA, THE BLACK STAR OF AFRICA, IS ON THE RISE AGAIN!”

Thank you.