Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's presidential address.

Mr. president, it is probably right to say to those of us who live in countries generally referred to as developing countries get somewhat bemused by arguments and complicated definitions of poverty... For us poverty is a daily reality that we live with and feel. For far too many of our people are burdened with it, and it robs us of the dignity that should be the inherent right of every human being.

We know that our performance as governments will be judged by how successful we are in reducing and eventually by eradicating poverty in our countries.

The responsibility is ours as individual sovereign countries, not only to aim at reducing poverty, but actually to create prosperity for all our citizens.

We in Ghana, certainly are engaged in fighting to eradicate poverty from our country...

(...)poverty anywhere degrades us all, whether in the developed or the developing world... luckily for us technological advances are short-circuited, the path of these out of poverty...it is no longer the long and tortuous road it used to be... A mere twenty years ago, a mobile phone was a rarity... and some fear would become a developed world status symbol...and another sign of the technology gap between the rich and the poor....

Today the poorest person in the most inaccessible place in the poorest country has a mobile phone after a smart phone. In many ways it had transformed our lives...in the year 2000 in Ghana, there were 90,000 mobile phone subscribers. Today, there are more than 41 million subscriptions. This has led to a remarkable difference in communications within our country and the outside world...

(..) the application of technology can be the tool to set us on the road to prosperity...

The modernization of agriculture through the application of technology could well turn out to be the fastest way to make the turn around that we seek...
the young people of the world, especially those of Ghana and Africa, have demonstrated their ingenuity and innovative prowess, and we need to enlist them fully in the fight...

(...) it would be an easier battle of course if trade practices were seen to be more equitable and fair...
the questions always remains, whether the rich nations are prepared for equitable and fair trading order...it appears that they are not! and we have thus to continue to fight for a fairer world economic order.

it should not be lost on anyone, that the minerals on which the world depends to move industry and manufacturing are mostly available in Africa. And yet, we who own these fundamental resources by birth righto are remained poor, whilst our minerals have brought vast wealth to nations and peoples outside our continent...

It is worth pointing out also, that not only do we did not get a fair share of the wealth once extracted, our lands, environment, our oceans are after left devastated by the process and the competition to gain control over these minerals, has often led to insecurity in our countries...

I do not seek to blame outsiders for our problems, but since there will be years to find multilateral solutions...I believe it is worth pointing out... that on fairness on the economic order...undermines the fight against poverty.

Indeed, the flight of capital is continuing the foreign exploitation of Africa, represented by colonialism and imperialism. The report of the panel shared by the highly respected former South African president Thabo Mbeki of the illicit funds from Africa has raised the lid on what many already suspected, but does not have the figures to support...

According to that report, Africa is losing annually more than 50 billion U.S dollars through illicit financial outflows... collaboration is certainly needed amongst nations of the world to stop this rape of Africa...

The African continental free-trade area which recently came into effect whose secretary, Ghana has the honor of hosting is a major collective effort by Africa to get to grips to mastering of her own development. It will be the world's largest free-trade area, since the formation of the World Trade Organization. It will provide the vehicle for us to trade better among ourselves. Offer an opportunity to exploit our abundant wealth and resources for the benefit of our peoples, and give us protection in how to deal with other trading blocks...

(...) the fight to eradicate poverty is intrinsically linked to quality education, the second part of the problems identified for special attention...wherever quality education is available there is usually prosperity...

Throughout the ages, education has been the most equitable source of providing opportunities and has provided the fastest and most reliable route out of poverty...

We in Ghana acknowledge, that we need an educated and skilled population to be able to compete effectively in the world economy.

We are therefore, taking the courageous step on spending on education a
substantial part of our national revenue...indeed one-third of our nation's budget...