PAG COMMEMORATES THE 117TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF OSAGYEFO DR. KWAME NKRUMAH

PRESS STATEMENT

Presented by Apostle Dr. John Enyonam Kpikpi, Flagbearer of the Progressive Alliance for Ghana (PAG)

Today, the Progressive Alliance for Ghana joins Ghanaians and Africans across the world to commemorate the birth anniversary of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first Prime Minister and President, and one of Africa’s foremost advocates of political independence, economic self-determination and African unity.

For PAG, remembering Nkrumah must go beyond ceremonies and speeches. It must challenge us to ask a fundamental question: What kind of Ghana are we preparing for the next generation?

Nkrumah understood that political independence would have limited meaning without economic independence. His vision was of a Ghana that could develop its productive capacity, educate its people, industrialise its economy and use its natural resources to improve the lives of its citizens.

That unfinished task remains relevant today.

Preparing Our Youth for the World of Work

Ghana’s greatest resource is not only what lies beneath our soil, but also the talent, creativity and energy of our young people.

We must therefore move beyond an education system that primarily prepares young people to seek scarce formal employment. Our education and skills-development systems must equip young Ghanaians to create, own and manage productive enterprises.

Technical and vocational education, digital skills, entrepreneurship, apprenticeships, agriculture, manufacturing, mining services and the emerging green-energy economy must become central to preparing our youth for the future world of work.

A young Ghanaian should graduate not only asking, “Where can I find a job?” but also asking, “What can I produce, what problem can I solve, and what enterprise can I build?”

Cooperatives as a Vehicle for Economic Ownership

PAG believes that cooperatives can provide an important pathway for ordinary citizens to participate meaningfully in the productive economy.

Our farmers, small-scale miners, artisans and young entrepreneurs can achieve greater bargaining power, access to technology, finance, markets and processing facilities when they organise around strong and accountable cooperative structures.

In agriculture, cooperative models can help farmers aggregate production, access machinery and inputs, improve storage and processing, and negotiate better markets.

In the mining sector, responsible cooperative structures can also help formalise local participation, improve safety and environmental standards, and ensure that communities derive greater economic value from the resources around them.

Ghanaian citizens should not remain merely producers of raw materials while others capture the greater value.

From Extraction to Value Addition

Nkrumah’s industrial vision challenges us to reconsider how we manage Ghana’s natural resources.

Gold, bauxite, manganese, lithium, oil, gas and other mineral and natural resources must become instruments for industrial transformation rather than simply sources of raw exports.

We need deliberate policies that encourage processing, refining, manufacturing and local supply chains.

If we mine lithium, we must think beyond exporting ore. If we produce gold, we must strengthen our refining and downstream industries. If we produce agricultural commodities, we must develop the processing industries that turn them into finished products.

The question must no longer be only how much Ghana can extract, but how much value Ghana can create from what it extracts.

Energy for Industrial Transformation

No serious industrial transformation can occur without reliable, affordable and sustainable energy.

Ghana must therefore pursue an energy strategy that supports households, agriculture, manufacturing, mining, technology and small businesses.

Our energy resources must serve the productive economy. At the same time, Ghana must prepare for the future by expanding investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency and other technologies that can strengthen our energy security.

We must build an economy where a young entrepreneur can operate a workshop, a farmer can process produce, a factory can run consistently and a digital enterprise can compete globally without energy insecurity becoming a permanent obstacle.

The Nkrumah We Must Remember

The greatest tribute we can pay to Nkrumah is not simply to celebrate his achievements, but to confront the unfinished questions of national development that his generation placed before us.

Can Ghana produce more than it imports?

Can our young people become owners of productive enterprises?

Can our farmers and miners capture more value from their labour?

Can our natural resources finance industrial development?

Can our energy sector power a competitive economy?

Can we build institutions and systems that serve generations rather than political cycles?

These are the questions that must define our national conversation.

As the Progressive Alliance for Ghana, we believe that economic self-reliance, human-capital development, cooperative ownership, responsible resource management, industrialisation and energy security must form part of the foundation of Ghana’s next phase of development.

On this anniversary, we salute Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and reaffirm our commitment to the unfinished work of building a productive, self-reliant and prosperous Ghana.

Nkrumah’s dream must not remain a memory. It must become a continuing national project.

Long live Ghana.
Long live African unity.

Apostle Dr. John Enyonam Kpikpi
Flagbearer
Progressive Alliance for Ghana (PAG)