Let's take collective responsibility for our problems - Mahama

President John Mahama has appealed to Ghanaians to take collective responsibility for the challenges the country is currently facing and work towards making things better.

Delivering his Independence Day address at the 6th March parade at the Black Star Square in Accra on Wednesday, the President noted that in order to ensure progress and significant development, it was imperative for every Ghanaian to carry out his or her responsibility diligently.

“Each and every one of us has a responsibility to make a meaningful and constructive contribution towards the growth and betterment of this nation. We owe that much to ourselves and to our children who will inherit this land and we owe that much to all those who fought for us to have a place to claim as our own.”

The President pointed out that though governance was a shared responsibility, the populace “should take collective ownership of the challenge that faces us.”

According to him, “unless we demonstrate a strong desire and unflinching commitment to be part of the solution, most of government’s effort will amount to nothing."

President Mahama appealed to Ghanaians to “work together as a team. We must remember that the words we speak matter. If we speak of success, we envision success and we work towards realizing that vision, we will achieve it.

If we speak and focus on failure, any inspiration to believe, to see and to create has already been killed. We must also remember that our actions do matter; they matter in the short term and they matter in the long term. Our actions come with repercussions.”

Citing some negative actions which, in his opinion, run the country down, H.E. John Mahama stated, “we cannot throw plastic waste in our drainage system and expect not to be confronted with floods when it rains. We cannot continue to drive recklessly on our roads and hope that our society will be free of vehicular accidents. People cannot pay and collect bribes and hope that somehow, public services will automatically improve.”

“We cannot create markets for the purchase of stolen items and expect that crime in our society will cease by itself! ”

President Mahama called on Ghanaians to embrace the “wind of change; change does not come easily, change does not come overnight.”