President Akufo-Addo has said Ghana worked for its democratic governance system, stating it was not given at its independence.
According to him, “whatever we have today, we have worked out for ourselves.”
He said this during at the 67th Independence Day celebration at the Youth Resource Centre in Koforidua.
Akufo-Addo stressed that British rule did not prepare Ghana for democracy, emphasising that colonial rule inherently lacks democratic principles.
“Everything we know about elections today, we have learnt through hard practice, and, in the past 31 years, we have been stable,” he added.
Acknowledging that the system is not perfect, he noted that each election in the Fourth Republic has shown improvement, adding there is still much to learn, especially regarding the tolerance of opposing views.
“We know that technology is a useful tool that we must embrace to make the electoral process more transparent, but we are very much aware that technology also now makes it possible and easier for the deliberate manipulation and propagation of falsehood to influence public opinion.
“When it comes to free speech and a vigorous media as indicators of a working democracy, I believe we can say we are doing well. There is no danger of dissenting voices not being heard on any subject, even though we still have more work to do on elevating the quality of public discourse,” the President said.
He highlighted the nation’s practice of taking disputes to the courts for resolution and operating within agreed and acceptable rules.
“When we look around our neighbourhood, we might be tempted to think that our work is done, but we, Ghanaians, have never been known to settle for mediocrity. We aim for the best in every field. We should compare ourselves with the best that there is, and not settle for anything less. For as long as there is poverty and injustice anywhere in Ghana, our work is not done,” he added.