61 years ago, on March 6, 1957, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and the Convention People’s Party (CPP) led the Gold Coast to independence from British rule. The valiant people of the Gold Coast waged a relentless struggle which called for substantial sacrifices on the path to national liberation.
The victory of the people 61 years ago, is no doubt an important one but a lot more remains to be done to free Ghana completely from the shackles of neo-colonial domination and exploitation.
From independence, the Nkrumah government pursued a policy of self-reliance within the context of continental unity and stridently advocated the unity of oppressed people throughout the world.
The Nkrumah Government established more than 400 industries in the fields of glassware, leather works, meat processing, electronics, pharmaceuticals, distilleries, clothing, and many more to provide employment to the people and reduce Ghana’s dependence on imported goods.
Enrolment in schools increased by more than 500 per cent and medical facilities were provided across the country. The railway lines were rehabilitated and expanded as well as telecommunication infrastructure. The Takoradi Harbour was expanded and a new one was constructed in Tema.
By February 24, 1966, when Nkrumah was overthrown in a coup sponsored by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States of America. Ghana had become a model state for newly independent states in Africa and the world. The people of Ghana were making substantial progress in the battle against under development and poverty.
As Nkrumah stated in a speech at the Academy of Sciences in Accra on November 30, 1963, “political independence is only a means to an end. Its value lies in its being used to create new economic, social and cultural conditions which colonialism and imperialism have denied is for so long”.
Today, as we mark 61 years of Ghana’s independence, it is significant to note that the political and economic elite have completely abandoned that path to national self-reliance and the promotion of Pan Africanism.
Ghana has now embarked upon a neo-liberal path to “development” leading to massive levels of unemployment, the withdrawal of subsidies on social services, the loss of control over the exploitation of natural resources and reckless devaluations of the national currency.
On the occasion of the 61st anniversary of Ghana’s independence, the Socialist Forum of Ghana (SFG) calls on the working people of Ghana and their allies to intensify the struggle for the control of national resources.
The resources of Ghana must be owned and exploited in the interest of the people. They should not and cannot be leverages for the sole purpose of maximizing the profits of multi-national corporations and the fat cows in our society.
This is the time to organize and not agonize.
It is time for the people of Ghana to take their destiny into their own hands.
Kofi Henaku
Secretary
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