06/03/2026
President John Dramani Mahama Speech at Ghana's 69th Independence Day Ceremony
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“Your Excellency, Dr. Honorable Terrance Drew, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevins, and your beautiful wife, Your Excellency, Vice President Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, the Right Honorable Speaker of Parliament, Your Lordship, Chief Justice Paul Baffoe Bonny, Your Excellency's former Presidents John Agyekum Kuffour and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Chief of Staff and Senior Government Officials, Honorable Ministers and Deputy Ministers, Your Excellency's members of the Diplomatic Corps, Niime, Naame, officers and men of the Ghana Armed Forces, our school children and youth of Ghana, my fellow citizens.
On this sacred day, the 6th of March, we gather once again to commemorate the freedom that our forebears won for us 69 years ago. We stand here not just as witnesses to history, but as guardians of a legacy and architects of our shared destiny that are united under the red for our courage, the gold for our wealth, the green for our forests and the black star that shines as a beacon of hope for Africa and the diaspora.
Today as we mark our 69th Independence Anniversary, we do so under the theme, Building Prosperity, Inspiring Hope. This theme is more than just ceremonial. It represents a covenant between the governments and the governed, a solemn promise that every decision we make and every policy we implement must foster prosperity and renew hope for every Ghanaian.
Just six days ago, I stood before Parliament to deliver the State of the Nation Address. I spoke honestly about our challenges and confidently about the future and the progress we are making. But today, I speak not only to our Parliament, but to every Ghanaian, the farmer in the northern savannah, the trader in the Makola market, the teachers in our classrooms, the nurses in our hospitals and clinics, the young entrepreneur with a smartphone in his hand, and every Ghanaian both at home and in the diaspora.
This is our story. This is our moment. We cannot speak of Ghana's present without paying homage to our past.
Sixty-nine years ago, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah proclaimed to the world that at long last the battle is ended and that Ghana, our beloved country, is free forever. He also added that the independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African continent. Nkrumah did not only grant us independence, he awakened within us a sense of consciousness and a continental purpose.
Starting with the UGCC and eventually the CPP, along with the countless unsung heroes and patriots, they sparked a movement that altered the course of African history. Today we honor the memory of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah and all others who have led this country after him. All of them have been a part of our history and have brought us to this moment in our lives.
From Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia to J. A. Ankrah, Akwasi Afrifa, I.K Acheampong, General Akufo, Jerry John Rawlings, John Agyekum Kuffour, John Evans Atta Mills, and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. Every administration, regardless of its political inclination, has played its part in building the nation we all proudly call Ghana. Our democracy has endured because we've learned to compete without destroying, to disagree without hatred, and to transfer power peacefully, which is evidence of the maturity and the wisdom of the Ghanaian people.
Your Excellency Prime Minister Terrance Drew, your presence here today carries great significance for us. Your visits and our bilateral engagements represent more than just diplomacy. They signify a historic reconnection between Ghana and our brothers and sisters in the Caribbean, branches of the same ancestral tree.
The dungeons of the Cape Coast and Elmina castles remind us of the dark chapters of history when millions of Africans were forcibly transported across the Middle Passage to the so-called New World. Yet from that tragedy arose the remarkable resilience, creativity, and cultural brilliance that continue to influence the world. Today, Ghana is working with partners across Africa and the diaspora to seek historical justice.
Later this month, Ghana will submit a motion to the United Nations declaring slavery and the transatlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity. This motion will represent the justice and restitution that is long overdue. And Ghana, the first sub-Saharan African nation to gain independence, will once again lead the global call for dignity and restoration.
My fellow citizens, when I took office, you granted me a clear mandate to reset our nation, Ghana. Resetting Ghana goes beyond simply managing our issues. It involves transforming how we govern, how we produce, and how we share the fruits of our prosperity.
Over the past year, we've taken decisive steps to stabilize our economy, restore investor confidence, and rebuild fiscal discipline in how we manage our resources. Inflation is declining, the local currency is stabilizing, and confidence in the Ghanaian economy is gradually returning. We've renegotiated our debts to obtain more sustainable terms for our people, and we've redirected valuable national resources towards health care, education, agriculture, and employment creation.
But resetting Ghana goes beyond just the numbers. It involves resetting our values, our expectations, and the social contract that exists between leaders and citizens. Leadership must be accountable.
Corruption is a that erodes the very foundation of our nation. Every city that is stolen from the public purse represents a classroom that is robbed of textbooks. It represents a hospital that will go without medicines.
It represents a road that will be left uncompleted. And it represents a young graduate that will be denied opportunity. Under my leadership, we're not just fighting corruption with words alone.
We're strengthening institutions, protecting anti-corruption agencies from political interference, and ensuring that no individual, regardless of their status or party, is above the law. But government cannot win this battle alone. We must foster a national culture of integrity where honesty is valued and public service is regarded as a sacred duty.
Independence granted us freedom, but freedom demands responsibility. We need to re-establish discipline in our national life. Discipline in how we manage public resources.
Discipline in adhering to the law. Discipline in how we treat one another in public life. Patriotism should extend beyond just slogans.
True patriotism must be shown through our everyday actions. The citizen who protects public property. The public servant who treats every with respect.
And the entrepreneur who opts to invest his resources in Ghana's future. Above all, we must place country above party, above tribe, and above personal interest. Citizens, Ghana is bigger than any one of us.
To the young people of this country, I see you, I hear you, and I believe in your potential. You belong to a generation that is armed with tools and opportunities that earlier generations could hardly have imagined. In your hands, a smartphone transforms into a classroom.
In your hands, a business platform, a smartphone transforms into a business platform. In your hands, a smartphone transforms into a creative studio and a gateway to the global economy. However, I also recognize your frustrations, and that is why government is investing in digital infrastructure, entrepreneurship programs, and innovation hubs across the country, from Accra to Kumasi to Tamale, Takoradi, Ho and Koforidua, while reforming education to meet the needs of the modern economy and expanding internship and apprenticeship programs to bridge the gap between school and the world of work.
But success will also depend on discipline, resilience, and excellence. And let me give you sound advice. The future belongs to those who prepare for it.
Permit me to congratulate the 52 outstanding students who received the President's Independence Day Award for School Children earlier this week. I also commend Keita Secondary Technical School for winning the 69th Independence Day Quiz Competition. And I extend my congratulations to the winners of this year's National Debates Competition.
All of you represent the promise of Ghana's future. My fellow countrymen and women, I am pleased to announce that I have assented to the 24-hour Economy Authority Bill, and it has now become law. This historic reform will boost Ghana's productivity, businesses will be incentivized, to run across multiple shifts, factories will operate around the clock, and services will become more accessible to our citizens.
Thousand new jobs will be generated across various sectors, ranging from manufacturing and logistics to security and transportation. This initiative will enable us to optimize the use of our national infrastructure and establish Ghana as a competitive industrial hub. And this is how we will create prosperity.
I am also pleased to announce that we are in the final stages of setting up the Women's Development Bank. This work has been under the leadership of our hard-working Vice President, Jane Nana Opoku Agyemang. Our women entrepreneurs have historically been the backbone of Ghana's informal economy, and yet too many of them face barriers to affordable credits.
This Women's Development Bank will provide accessible financing, mentorship, and business support that is tailored to women-led enterprises. When women succeed, families thrive, and nations prosper. Women of Ghana, we are committed to investing so that you realize your full potential.
Ghana's destiny is inseparable from Africa's destiny. Today, Africa is home to over 1.4 billion people and possesses the youngest workforce in the world. The African Continental Free Trade Area, which is based here in Accra, is one of the most ambitious economic integration projects in the history of the world.
A unified market for African goods and services, a platform for African innovation, a foundation for Africa's economic sovereignty. Ghana will continue to lead by example, demonstrating that democracy, economic reform, and African unity can succeed together. As we approach the milestone of Ghana's 70th anniversary next year, let us reaffirm our national vision.
A vision of a Ghana where no child will go to bed hungry. A Ghana where education is accessible and empowering. A Ghana where healthcare is affordable and accessible.
A Ghana with world-class infrastructure. A Ghana that produces what it consumes. A Ghana where merit and not connections decides opportunity.
A Ghana that is digitally connected from Aflao to Hamile. A Ghana that preserves its forest and environment for future generations. This vision is within reach, but it requires our collective efforts.
My fellow Ghanaians, 69 years ago, our nation was born in hope, and together we gather here this morning to renew that hope. The journey has not always been smooth. We have stumbled and often felt disappointed in ourselves, but we have never given up.
There's resilience that defines the Ghanaian spirit still lives on. As your president, I pledge to serve with integrity, humility, and unwavering dedication to the welfare of our people. But Ghana's progress cannot rely solely on my leadership.
It will depend on every citizen doing their part. Wherever you are, whatever you do, do your part with excellence. Do it for Ghana, do it for Africa, and do it for the generations yet unborn.
Ladies, as I conclude, building prosperity, inspiring hope is not merely today's theme. It is our national mission. Today we celebrate how far we have come, and when we leave here, tomorrow we must commit ourselves to how far we will go.
May God bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation great and strong. Long live Ghana and long live African unity.”
Jubilee House
African Union
John Dramani Mahama
