Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson has urged Ghanaians to recognise that building a prosperous nation is a shared responsibility that goes beyond the efforts of President John Dramani Mahama.
Delivering an address at the National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving in Accra on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, the respected Cardinal called on citizens to embrace a renewed commitment to patriotism, spirituality, and moral integrity as essential ingredients for Ghana’s transformation.
The interfaith service, held at the forecourt of the State House, brought together political leaders, religious groups, and thousands of citizens to mark Ghana’s Republic Day with reflection and prayers for national unity and progress.
Cardinal Turkson, who previously served as the President of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, emphasised that national development cannot be achieved by leadership alone, stressing the need for every Ghanaian to play their part.
“The transformation of this land will not be a task for just the president. With all the good intentions that he may have, the transformation of this land depends on us,” Cardinal Turkson said.
“We must not only be religious but also spiritual. So for all of us gathered here, I just like to tell you that biblical religious says one thing about all of us. It means that our belief in God entails our vision of the world and our place in that vision,” he added.
He reminded Ghanaians that meaningful change requires not only the articulation of a national vision but also the personal commitment of individuals to live out that vision in their daily lives.
Whatever vision of Ghana we have gathered here to express, we need to recognise that it will suffice to formulate and express a vision; we need to go ahead and formulate our own place also within the vision. That just means that we are looking for virtues in Ghanaians who develop virtue and live by virtue,” he stressed.
The Cardinal warned that without cultivating virtues such as honesty, compassion, and accountability, the country risks being overwhelmed by greed, with devastating consequences for all.
“Otherwise, greed will dominate this land, and when that happens, there will be negative externalities to be borne by all of us,” he cautioned.
