The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has called for a national shift from political rhetoric to enterprise and productivity, urging Ghanaians to focus on building businesses, creating jobs, and driving economic transformation.
Speaking at the Ghana Business Leaders’ Conclave at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, on Friday, May 15, the Asantehene said Ghana’s nearly 70 years of independence should compel citizens to reflect on whether the country has fully translated freedom into prosperity and opportunity for its people.
“Our nation stands only a few months shy of her 70th birthday. We are within reach of seven decades as a sovereign independent nation,” he said.
He noted that Ghana has played a historic role in Africa’s liberation struggles and produced globally respected personalities, but stressed that the country must now focus on improving the living conditions of its citizens through economic growth and innovation.
“We must ask ourselves whether we have made the best of our freedom in our lives. We must ask whether the promise of independence has been translated into prosperity in every home, opportunity for every child, and dignity for every citizen,” he stated.
According to him, the true measure of national progress lies in the strength of the economy and its ability to provide food, shelter, education, healthcare, and security for citizens.
The Asantehene observed that Ghana’s development over the decades has been overly dominated by politics instead of nation-building and enterprise.
“We must be honest enough to admit that the past decades have been too dominated by politics and not always by politicians of the kind that builds nations. Allegiance to party has too often been stronger than allegiance to the state,” he said.
He further criticised what he described as excessive celebration of political rhetoric while overlooking hardworking individuals whose innovation and enterprise contribute to national growth.
“We have sung the praises of politicians and ignored those whose toil, innovation and enterprise drive nations forward,” he added.
Calling for a new national direction, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II declared that Ghana must become “a nation of builders.”
“We have had enough of talk. Ghana must now become a nation of builders. We must move from political rhetoric to building business. We must move from slogans to production. We must move from lamentation to enterprise,” he stressed.
The Asantehene urged Ghanaians to embrace hard work, discipline, sacrifice, and innovation as the foundation for long-term economic transformation.
“We must move from dependency to value creation. We must move from the garden path of promises to the hard road of work, discipline, sacrifice and innovation,” he said.
He also challenged political leaders to continue creating a stable policy environment while encouraging citizens, entrepreneurs, professionals, and institutions to actively contribute to national development.
“Our political leaders must continue to create the right environment, provide the right policy framework and ensure stability. But the duty to create, to innovate, to build enterprises, to create jobs and to add value to our natural resources rests also upon citizens, entrepreneurs, professionals and institutions,” he noted.
The Asantehene expressed hope that the coming decade would become a period of economic transformation driven by ethical businesses, innovation, and sustainable growth.
