We'll develop a new Ghanaian -Govt Spokesman

The Government Spokesman, Mr Kwabena Agyepong, has said that the vision of the government is to develop a new Ghanaian personality imbued with the spirit of patriotism.

He said the government's philosophy of positive change involves a change in attitude that will ensure that Ghanaians rededicate themselves to the interest of the nation.

Mr Agyepong was speaking at the opening of a series of lectures, organised by the Black Lineage Reality Research Centre (BLRRC), on the findings of a research into the causes of the political and socio-economic problems in Africa in Accra on Thursday.

The Government Spokesman said government is committed to improving the living conditions of Ghanaians. He said to achieve this, Ghanaians need to develop a new personality, who has a sense of national pride and patriotism.

Mr Agyepong called on Ghanaians "to believe in themselves and look within themselves to face our developmental challenges."

The President of BLRRC, Pastor Sampson Joe Baning, called on Africans not to be discouraged by the fact that attempts in the past at developing the continent have not yielded the desired results.

He said although Africa is the richest continent in terms of natural resources, it remains the most underdeveloped in the world because its leaders failed to develop an industrial and economic base for the development of their countries.

He said the lectures are based on the findings of an eight-year long research into the causes of the multiple political and socio-economic problems facing Africa and proposed solutions.

The BLRRC president said nearly half a century after colonialism, Africans are still living in poverty, squalor and disease because most of the policies prescribed for its development were not suitable.

Pastor Baning related how Africa and its resources were plundered during the slave trade and colonialism, and how the then two super powers, US and the USSR, used the continent to serve their interest during the Cold War. He said when various countries were forming alliances like the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the Warsaw Pact, the developing world also formed the Non-Aligned Movement.

He said with the collapse of the USSR that signalled the end of the Cold War, some of the countries which were members of the Non-Aligned Movement made impressive strides in their development but the African countries still remained the same.

He mentioned some of these countries as Malaysia and India. Pastor Baning added that African development problems are peculiar and said references have been made to these problems in the Bible.

He, therefore, said that divine intervention will be crucial in any attempt to find answers to these problems.