President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says the people of Ghana have demonstrated their deep commitment to the principles of democratic accountability, respect for individual freedoms, human rights and the rule of law.
This, he says, has resulted in more or less “systematic economic growth and has immensely boosted our self-confidence”.
“For the past thirty (30) years of our Fourth Republic, Ghana has enjoyed political stability under a multi-party constitution and the longest period of stable constitutional governance in our hitherto turbulent history.
“During this period, we have witnessed the transfer of power from one ruling political party to another through the ballot box on three (3) occasions in conditions of peace and stability without any threat to the foundations of the state,” he said.
President Nana Akufo-Addo was delivering the keynote address at a side event organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany.
Citing the case of Ghana, President Akufo-Addo noted that political instability characterised much of the early decades of the country’s life as an independent nation, and Ghana became notorious for trying every kind of political experiment.
“The one-party state of the First Republic was overthrown by our first military coup, and the Second and Third Republics, which practised democratic governance, were also overthrown by coups.
“My father, the President of the Second Republic, was overthrown about fifty-one years ago, on 13 January 1972. Kutu Acheampong’s coup ended his reign,” he said.
According to him, the instability led to the collapse of the economy and the exodus of many citizens and professionals from the country.
“We have probably not recovered from the tendency to want to leave the country as an answer to difficult situations,” President Nana Akufo-Addo noted.
Since 1963, the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering on international security issues, has taken place in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.
It was one of the biggest gatherings of its kind in the world and was once known as the Munich Conference on Security Policy.
The Munich Security Conference has developed over the past four decades into the most significant independent platform for the discussion of international security policy.
It brings together roughly 350 top individuals from more than 70 nations each year for a thorough discussion on present and upcoming security concerns.
Heads of states, governments, and international organizations, ministers, lawmakers, senior representatives of the armed services, science, civil society, commerce, and other sectors are among those in attendance.
