Kufuor urges Ghanaians overseas to do more to help build Ghana

Ghana's President John Kufuor on Wednesday called on the thousands of his country's citizens who live in foreign lands to endeavour to contribute more towards the building of Ghana.

Addressing Ghanaians resident in Sydney, Australia, Mr. Kufuor said his government was grateful for the many contributions expatriate Ghanaians make towards the country's development.

He was in Australia to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Coolum, Queensland.

"Remittances from Ghanaians overseas is the third largest source of foreign income for the national economy", the President said at the occasion which also marked Ghana's 45th Independence anniversary.

Touching on the issue of dual citizenship which had been of concern to the many Ghanaians overseas, Mr. Kufuor revealed that the necessary legislation would soon become law.

He said the move was to acknowledge the many contributions Ghanaians overseas make to the nation's development effort.

He however added that Ghanaians who wanted to take advantage of the new law would have to apply before their Ghanaian citizenship could be restored to them.

The president referred to the Biblical story of Joseph who had to be sold into slavery to Pharaoh's court because of the necessity to save his life. Joseph eventually had the power to save his 11 brothers and other members of his family.

Mr. Kufuor said he was aware that many Ghanaians had been driven to other countries by the sheer hardships Ghana had faced in the past 20-odd years. "Perhaps you've come here out of necessity. Whatever your circumstances, never forget your homeland.

"Like Joseph, use the knowledge, expertise and powerful networking you have acquired here to lift Ghanaians to a higher standard of living like the one you enjoy in Australia and other developed nation", he said.

Mr. Kufuor wished all Ghanaians a happy Independence Day, adding that the goodwill Ghana enjoyed in the West African sub-region and beyond would enable the country develop in peace and prosper in the years to come.

Earlier Ghana's Foreign Minister, Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, told the 5,000-strong Ghanaian community in Sydney that his ministry would set up an honorary consulate in Australia's largest city by the end of May this year. The President of the Ghana Association of New South Wales (the Australian state of which Sydney is the capital), Thomas Osei, urged the government to go a step further and re-open the Ghana High Commission in Canberra which closed in 1985.

Mr. Osei said there was substantial trade between Ghana and Australia, and both countries should seek to strengthen and build on the Commonwealth ties that bound them together.