THE DAY AFTER INDEPENDENCE: MY HOPES FOR GHANA

Yes, fifty four years of nationhood, thus how far we have come. In six years, Ghana would be six
decades old. The 6th March anniversary parade at the independence square which climaxes the
celebrations have become an annual ritual. Indeed, this must be the time for reflections, stock
taking and a projection into the future. The parade is a unique and nostalgic experience, having
participated in the 46th independence anniversary as a high school student; the icing on the cake
was when we (the first police cadet corps in Africa and second in the world of St. Thomas
Aquinas) emerged tops in the match past. Should it all be pumped and pageantry interspersed
with grandiose plans contained in presidential addresses? This essay seeks to propose the day
after our independence; projecting into the future of a Ghana @ 60 and beyond.

We should ask ourselves as a people how well we know our history, identity and culture. The
institution of a day to commemorate our founders‟ or founder‟s on September 21(the birthday of
Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, 1909-1971) each year resulted in sharp debates about the „s‟
before the apostrophe or the apostrophe after the „s‟. This development is yet another indicator
of polarization in our country.

Fifty four years of independence and what do we see, illiteracy, poverty, child and maternal
mortality, politics of „monecracy‟ and invectives, mediocrity, low self-esteem, strikes, youth
unemployment and the list goes on and on. Indeed all political manifestoes, campaigns and
debates have featured the various parties promising to solve one problem or the other. Yet they
are still with us. It is not that success and achievement have not been chalked; expansion of
education, health and infrastructure are worth citing. We have not done well in the light of the
much talked about, cited comparison with Malaysia, South Korea and the rest of the Asian tigers.

Some questions arise. Do we know and fully appreciate our problems, do we know what to do
solve our solve them, what action plans have we put in place to propel us into a better state, have
we identified the required human resources, the requisite scientific, technology and research
inputs? Do we?

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The day after ‘6th March ‘, my ‘6 golden hopes’ for Ghana are:

1. That we would be able to ensure a sustainable provision of food, water and shelter for
our people.
2. That we would gain economic independence by breathing life into Nkrumah‟s edifying
quote “The black man is capable of managing his own affairs” on the eve of
independence evidenced in our ability to fully finance our budget. Thus departing from
the current 60% donor budget support which we have a dire dependence on.
3. That the physically challenged, women, children and especially the youth would be
heard not only seen.
4. That we would pay a great tribute to Osagyefo by leading the continent once again to a
grand union after been the first sub-Saharan country to gain independence.
5. That we shall continue to be a beacon of peace and democracy on the continent and
beyond.
6. That we would eradicate poverty, disease and ignorance.

P.S
Signing the Socio-economic Performance contract;

"We shall measure our progress by the improvement in the health of our people; by the number of
children in school, and by the quality of their education; by the availability of water and electricity
in our towns and villages, and by the happiness which our people take in being able to manage their
own affairs. The welfare of our people is our chief pride, and it is by this that my Government will
ask to be judged." ~ NKRUMAH. <Broadcast to the Nation. 24 December 1957>

Papayaw Asare
E-mail: papyaw@yahoo.com
March 7, 2011

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