President Mahama calls on Ghanaians to reset national values as foundation for lasting progress
A Ghana built on economic gains alone without a corresponding moral renewal would not stand.
All Ghanaians must then make the resetting of national values a genuine and enduring commitment.
President John Dramani Mahama made the call on Wednesday at the National Christian Prayer and Thanksgiving Service in Accra, where the theme “Resetting Our Values to Build the Ghana We Want”.
“The call to reset our values must therefore become more than today’s theme; it must become our national commitment,” President Mahama said.
He called for a recommitment to honesty, accountability, patriotism, compassion, discipline, mutual respect and unwavering commitment to the common good, saying those virtues were not simply desirable but were the necessary building blocks for a Ghana capable of sustaining its progress and extending its benefits to all citizens.
The President said the Ghana Ghanaians sought would not be built solely through major infrastructure projects or economic reforms but by millions of ordinary citizens making the right choices every single day, in homes, schools, offices, markets and farms across the country.
He said every act of honesty strengthened the Republic, every act of kindness strengthened communities, every act of integrity strengthened democracy and every act of service strengthened Ghana, making nation-building the responsibility not of government alone but of every citizen.
President Mahama acknowledged that Ghana’s economic recovery over the past one and a half years had been recognised worldwide as remarkable, but warned that economic transformation without moral transformation could not endure, and that prosperity without integrity was fragile.
He drew on biblical examples to reinforce the point, recalling how Nehemiah prayed but also laboured when rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, and how Joseph trusted God but also planned wisely when preparing Egypt for years of famine.
He said Ghana’s own progress had similarly been made possible through the combination of prayer, responsible leadership, disciplined governance and hard work.
The President said he remained optimistic about Ghana’s future and expressed the hope that when the current generation was judged by history, it would be recorded that they had answered the call to rebuild Ghana with courage, choosing integrity over corruption, unity over division, service over selfishness and hope over despair.
“Let history record that when our generation was called upon to rebuild Ghana, we answered with courage; that we chose integrity over corruption, unity over division, service over selfishness, hope over despair and faith over fear,” President Mahama said.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
