Mr. Mahmud Khalid, Upper West Regional Minister, on Saturday paid tribute to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first President, for carrying "the final flame" and declaring independence for Ghana.
He also acknowledged other political stalwarts, men and women who played diverse roles in the struggle and sacrificed a lot for the attainment of independence for the country.
Mr. Mahmud Khalid who was addressing a parade of students from the basic and second cycles schools at the Wa-Naa Sidiki Bomi's Park to mark the 53rd anniversary celebration of Ghana's Independence in Wa on Saturday, said Ghana had come a long way after independence as it had become a beacon of democracy, having set the basic standards which many developing countries looked up to.
Mr. Khalid therefore called on Ghanaians to remain united and pool resources to help develop the country, saying: "Let us avoid ethnicity, religious and political party differences and rally to build this country today for the future".
He said the task of nation building was not an easy one and that "the one year and two months reign of Professor John Atta Mills' had proved that there were better days ahead as it had worked hard to stabilize the economy, reduce inflation and halt the decline of the cedi".
According to him, what government sought to do hinged on the determination and contribution of the youth "who were the greatest asset of the nation".
Mr. Khalid therefore said youth development and empowerment constituted the bedrock of the government's policies and that was why government initiated the "Youth in Agriculture Programme" to brighten the future of the nation.
He urged the youth to embrace the programme and work hard for its success to boost food production and address the perennial food insecurity experienced in the country.
On education, Mr. Khalid announced that the region would soon receive 1, 570,827 free exercise books for distribution to basic schools while children from three deprived districts in the region would also benefit from the free school uniform project.
He announced that the government allocated 1.6 million Ghana Cedis for the construction of a Regional Library in Wa to help instil the habit of reading among children to enhance academic performance at school.
Mr. Pascal Sawadogo, Regional Minister of South West Region of Burkina Faso, who led a 15-member delegation to participate in the anniversary celebration called for good relations between the two countries.
He said what the two countries needed most was peace pointing out that the Ethnic groups in Burkina Faso bore the same ancestry as those in northern regions of Ghana and "let not anything divide us".
He commended Ghana's democratic process and said the people of Burkina Faso were proud of Ghana and its achievements.
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