“Let’s rise and build a Ghana Beyond Aid” - Papa Owusu-Ankomah to diaspora community

Ghana’s High Commissioner to UK & Ireland, Papa Owusu-Ankomah has called on Ghanaians in Portsmouth to join hands in building a Ghana Beyond Aid.

The High Commissioner made the call during a dinner dance and official launching ceremony of the Ghana Association of Portsmouth (GhAP) held in Portsmouth on Saturday.

In attendance were the Rt.Hon. Penny Mordaunt Secretary of State for International Development and MP for Portsmouth North, His Worshipful the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth Councillor Lee Mason and Bobby Mehta, Director of University of Portsmouth Global Affairs.

Portsmouth is a dynamic and vibrant waterfront city with proud naval and maritime heritage and hosts a lot of Ghanaian students and British Military forces of Ghanaian descent. The highly patronised event was also used to showcase rich Ghanaian culture, music, dance, food and various traditional fabrics including kente, ear rings, beads, bags and sandals.

The High Commissioner in his address, commended the executives for turning out in their numbers indicating similar engagements with Ghanaians Glasgow, Milton Keynes, Luton, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and Hull.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah noted, the the sheer range of talent among the Ghanaian diaspora in every sector of the economy was very encouraging. 

Quoting excerpts from the speech by President Nana Akufo-Addo during the 61^st Independence Anniversary, Papa Owusu-Ankomah said “Aid was never meant to be what would bring us to a developed nation status.  A ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ is a prosperous and self-confident Ghana that is in charge of its economic destiny.

“To get to a Ghana Beyond Aid, we will have to effectively harness our own resources and creatively and efficiently deploy them for rapid economic and social transformation. It requires hard work, enterprise, creativity and a consistent fight against corruption in public life.  It is will also require that we break from a mentality of dependency and adopt a confident can do spirit, fueled by love of our dear country and not subordinate the common goal to build a prosperous nation to the selfish interest of a few,” he said. 

Touching on the fundamentals of the economy, the High Commissioner indicated that the Government’s economic management team has performed creditably well to the admiration of both local and international bodies and the economy is tipped to be one of the best performing in sub-Saharan Africa this year.

In addition, the High Commissioner touched on some of the critical initiatives and programmes being pursued by the Government to build a prosperous nation. These he said included:

The Rt.Hon. Penny Mordaunt Secretary of State for International Development and MP for Portsmouth North, in her speech touched on the excellent relationship between UK and Ghana. She told the gathering that UK sees Ghana as a true partner for development while commending the political leadership in Ghana for the various initiatives and interventions.

Rt.Hon. Penny Mordaunt also commended the diaspora community for their contributions to the UK economy.

The Chairman of Ghana Association of Portsmouth Isaac Baidoo urged other Ghanaians who are not members of GhAP to join the Association where their expertise and skills could be harnessed for development. An appeal of fund was also made in support of provision of portable drinking water in targeted areas in Ghana.

The Ghana High Commission used the platform to deploy its mobile passport machine to capture some of the residents in Portsmouth and its environs who had applied for the issuance of the biometric passports. This exercise has taken the Mission to Manchester, Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, Dublin and Milton Keynes.

The High Commissioner was accompanied by the spouse, Mrs. Augustina Owusu-Ankomah, Kofi Addo, Head of Trade & Investment, Asher Safo, Welfare & Consular, Darlington Aheto, Protocol and Eric Yeboah, Officer in charge of IT Section.

 

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