08 Mar 2017

Ghanaian community living in Botswana on March 6, celebrated their country’s 60th independence anniversary with a vow to reflect back and further undertake the country’s aspirations atop.

Speaking at the ceremony, which was also attended by friends of the Ghana community, the honorary consul of Ghana to Botswana, Mr Opare Kumi said there was a need for self-introspection and consider whether Ghana was living the dreams of its founding fathers which were anchored on nation building and prosperity for all through an educated and selfless nation.

Mr Kumi was full of praise for those who played a leading and important role in the attainment of independence from Britain in 1957, whom chief among them was Ghana’s first democratically elected president Kwame Nkrumah., He said Ghanaians should follow the path set by the late Nkrumah who was a visionary leader and through education produced states men like former UN secretary general, Kofi Anan among others.

Mr Kumi however, decried the dire state of the environment in Ghana, noting that urgent remedial measures needed to be employed to remedy the situation before it got out of control.
He noted that the country was now importing timber yet it used to be self-sufficient, adding that this was because of reckless cutting of trees. 

In addition, the diplomat, noted that Ghana, which had some notable rivers in West Africa, was now portraying an old image of itself as some of the perennial rivers were polluted and urgently needed to be resuscitated for economic benefit of the nation as well as to save the environment from degradation.  
Meanwhile he called for continuous equal opportunities for Ghanaians, whom had since enjoyed peace and stability over the years.

He however, said he was happy that Ghanaian community living in Botswana had been celebrating independence celebrations in Botswana without fail.
For his part chairman of the Ghanaian Association in Botswana, Mr Atto Appiah proudly said Ghanaians were all over the world because of various talents and skills they were offering.  He noted that the country had since achieved a lot since independence and called on fellow countrymen to contribute more to develop the country further.

Meanwhile, Mr Benito Acolatse gave a historical account of independence and governance of Ghana of which he said the struggle for independence started back in 1897 and ultimately achieved through a combined political will of the people.
He said though the country experienced a lot of military coupes it had since returned to civilian rule, which was an envy of many.

The country, which was one of the politically stable in the region and used to be a leading cocoa producer, was once called Gold Coast but changed its name to Ghana when it attained independence.

It prides itself with an educated nation, which earned its undisputed respect, especially among fellow African countries, where most of the teachers were exported in the early years of struggle for independence by most African nations.
Ghana celebrated 60 years of independence with the theme Mobilising for Ghana’s Future. ENDS