A Political Analyst, Edgar Wiredu says laws binding parents to cater for their children should be forcefully implemented in order to make parents more responsible. Mr. Wiredu explained that since the Children’s Act states clearly that catering for children should be the prime responsibility of parents, parents who refuse to take good care of their children should be dealt with accordingly. He maintained that because there is laxity in the law, some irresponsible adults continue to make babies without provision for their welfare. He stressed that it is unfortunate that children who are supposed to be in school are often found in the streets loitering around as others engage in street hawking at the peril of their lives. He said “if one of these children is knocked down by a vehicle, the driver is held strictly accountable but the parents of such children go scot free”. The Political Analyst said these at a panel discussion on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem on Friday on the topic ‘What independence has Ghana really achieved after 55 years of celebrating Independence’. Mr. Edgar Wiredu said the constant changing of national policy agenda by successive governments over the years has negatively affected the growth of the nation. He noted that manifestos of political parties cover all essential areas in development, but the english language is used interchangeably by parties which makes its implementation very difficult. He therefore suggested that there should be a national development policy that drives any development plan, irrespective of the party in power. On his part, a Deputy Communications Director of the NPP, Sammy Awuku said psychologically Ghana is not independent because Ghanaians do not believe in themselves. He said it is unfortunate that political parties call their political foes ‘opponents’ but western countries which once enslaved Ghanaians through the Slave Trade are described as development partners. Citing a number of policies implemented by the Kufuor administration, Sammy Awuku said for instance free education for children is enshrined in the national policy but it was not implemented until the regime of the NPP under former President Kufuor with the introduction of Capitation grant and subsequently School Feeding Program. The Deputy Communications Director said unless Ghana shifts from a raw material exporting nation to a manufacturing and service providing country, the development everybody is yearning for will be a mirage. Still on the show, the Spokesperson for United Front Party (UFP), Listowel Nana Opoku said Ghana’s development has been retarded because every issue is politicized. He noted that is unfortunate that Ghana’s rich natural resources have now been taken by foreigners who continue to exploit the ordinary Ghanaian citizen. ‘Minerals like Cocoa, large scale mining and even illegal mining known in local parlance as ‘Galamsay’ have been taken over by these expatriates,’ Nana Opoku bemoaned.