<<Print>>President John Mahama has pledged that the government will engage leaders of all the political parties to reverse the situation where national issues are always politicised, to help build a united country for posterity.
He said it was regrettable that issues pertaining to national development which should unite Ghanaians as a people seemed to always divide them.
In a speech read on his behalf at a special congregation of the University of Education, Winneba yesterday, President Mahama expressed dissatisfaction with the politicisation of national issues, noting that the situation could negatively affect the country’s development.
Honorary degrees
Former President John Agyekum Kufuor and three others were awarded honorary doctoral degrees at the ceremony by the university for their meritorious contributions to the development of the university and other areas of their endeavours.
The others are Rev Dr Livingstone Buama, a former acting Chairman of the Council of the University of Education Winneba, Alhaji Gibrine Adam, President of the Zenith University College, and Professor Michael Shattock of the University of London.
President Mahama thanked members of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) for their patience, saying the government would keep faith with them.
In a speech, former President Kufuor appealed to the government to reach out to the striking doctors and find an amicable solution to the industrial action which had virtually paralysed health delivery in the public sector.
Meanwhile, he has appealed to all public sector workers, especially the doctors, to call off the strike and go back to work, as a consideration for the suffering public.
Mr Kufuor said the members of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) and others who were on strike or had threatened to declare industrial action had done so because of the socio-economic difficulties confronting the nation.
“I must seize this occasion to appeal to the government, as the pre-eminent leadership institution of the entire nation, to reach out with evident concern, transparency and decorum in its dialogue and negotiations with the GMA, as well as other public sector employees.”
He also expressed worry about the state of the economy and its overdependence on imports. “Its exports are still raw materials, and that is why our currency is so weak,” he said.
He called for the development of the private sector, particularly in the areas of manufacturing and entrepreneurship. “Ghana does not lack in human talents, it is just a matter of right policies,” he added.
The former President commended the first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, for laying the foundation of the university and all others who had contributed towards the establishment of the only University of Education in the West African sub-region.
On behalf of the awardees, he expressed appreciation to the university for acknowledging their contributions to society. He dedicated his award to the people of Ghana.
The Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Akwasi Asabere Ameyaw, said the university was increasingly diversifying its courses and relevance while sticking to its core mandate of training professional teachers in particular for the nation.
He commended the awardees for their immense contributions to the development of education and to the university in particular.