Peace, My People-President Tells Ghanaians (Front Page)

Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah
PRESIDENT J. A. Kufuor yesterday asked Ghanaians to reach out and inspire one another within the society to contribute to national development, irrespective of ethnic group, religion, gender, social status or political affiliation.
He said with a sense of goodwill towards one another, Ghanaians could develop to their fullest potential.
President Kufuor was speaking at a well-attended National Awards ceremony where 245 men and women who had distinguished themselves over the years in a broad spectrum of disciplines of national life were honoured. A number of foreign nationals who had helped the country in its efforts at national development were among those honoured.
He said the country had reached a stage where the people could not afford to lose focus, neither could they permit themselves to be distracted from their mission.
The award winners included people from academia, public service, health and medicine, statesmanship, science, industry, religion, the security services, the arts, the media, sports and culture.
The event, which was the third since it was re-introduced by the present government in 2006, was on the theme, “Branding Ghana for a Prosperous Future”.
The highest of the honours, the newly instituted Grand Order of the Star and Eagles of Ghana, as symbolised in the nation’s Coat of Arms and meant for Presidents of the Republic, was presented to President Kufuor by the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood.
In addition, five eminent members of society were awarded the next highest honour, which was the Order of the Star of Ghana (Companion).
They are the Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, for Public Service and National Governance; the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, for Traditional Authority and Public Service; Nayiri Naa Bohugu Mahami Shirigu, the Paramount Chief of Mamprugu, for Traditional Authority and Public Service, and Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), for National Politics, Advocacy for Human Rights and Rule of Law.
Five others were given the Order of the Star of Ghana (Member). The rest received honours in the Order of the Volta (Companion), the Order of the Volta (Officer), the Order of the Volta (Member) categories and the Grand Medal.
All the members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), including its flag bearer, Professor John Evans Atta Mills, and the Minority Leader, Mr A.S.K. Bagbin, who had been nominated to receive various awards did not attend the ceremony.
Explaining the rationale behind the institution of the Grand Order of the Star and Eagles award, President Kufuor observed that the law establishing the award of national honours did not provide specifically for an Order of the Head of State, which was the highest office of the land.
He said he decided to institute the new honour by the powers vested in him by the Constitution and also after wide consultation to complement the State Sword which was currently the main symbol of office.
“Henceforth, every new President will be given the collar of the order as he or she is sworn into office to be worn on all formal national occasions,” he said, adding that after a completion of the term of office, a President would be presented with a replica of the medal if he or she so desired.
The President said the national awards were first instituted by the nation’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, when Ghana attained a Republican status on July 1, 1960, saying that subsequent leaders had been implementing the policy but sparingly.
He said for one reason or another, some former leaders stayed away from administering the honours, a development which created a backlog of hardworking Ghanaians whose distinguished services should have been acknowledged by the State.
“Over the past three years I have deemed it imperative to try to correct this anomaly around the annual celebration of Republic Day,” he stated.
President Kufuor observed that the country had made outstanding progress during the past decade and half of the period of the Fourth Republic, adding that the last seven years in particular had witnessed a dramatic transformation of the economy and the society from stagnation to steady growth.
“This is evident in the improving standard of living across board. The nation is enjoying positive ratings internationally, which led to the over-subscription of Ghana’s Eurobond to the tune of over US$3 billion on the London Stock Exchange last year,” he stressed.
Touching on the theme for the function, he said it entailed a deliberate effort to improve all areas of weaknesses and maximise benefits to be derived from the hard work, humanity, warmth and resilience of the people, which included “building and strengthening the various institutions of governance to make them strong pillars of our democracy, promote peace and reconciliation, as well as the welfare of the citizens”.
President Kufuor said it was unfortunate that the institution of the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) in 2002 to serve as a starting point of national healing and sense of well-being continued to be spurned with contempt by some particular group of the society.
He said Ghanaians deserved to be happy and governed by enlightened laws deriving from the national Constitution and stressed that the government would continue to uphold laws and apply them to all without fear or favour.
He urged the award winners and the rest of the nation to be champions of peace and reconciliation in order to sustain the steady momentum of the national development.
“This is the legacy I would like to leave behind, and I shall continue to work towards that end till my last day in office and into the future”, he stated.