Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has called for a decisive national shift from partisan politics to enterprise-driven development.

Speaking at the Ghana Business Leaders Conclave held at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) on Friday, the traditional leader declared that Ghana “must now become a nation of builders.”

Addressing business executives, students, policymakers and academics, the Asantehene said Ghana’s nearly 70 years of independence had been overly dominated by political rhetoric rather than productive economic transformation.

“We have had enough of the talk. Ghana must now become a nation of builders,” he declared to applause.

“We must move from political rhetoric to building business. We must move from slogans to production. We must move from lamentation to enterprise. We must move from dependency to value creation.”

The Asantehene said while Ghana had earned global recognition for its historic role in Africa’s liberation struggles, the country must honestly assess whether independence had translated into prosperity for ordinary citizens.

“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 future prosperity of Ghana would depend not only on governments creating stable policy environments but also on citizens, entrepreneurs and institutions embracing innovation, discipline and productive enterprise.

“The decade before us must be a decade of business,” he stressed. “It must be a decade in which all our energies are directed towards building a strong, resilient, ethical and sustainable economy.”

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II argued that successful economies around the world — including the United States, China, India, Singapore and Vietnam — had been built on enterprise, technology, creativity and innovation rather than excessive political partisanship.

“In today’s world, business is the driver of prosperity,” he said.

The monarch also praised UPSA and the Otumfuo Centre for Traditional Leadership for initiating the Ghana Business Leaders Conclave, describing it as a potentially transformative national platform capable of reshaping Ghana’s development orientation.

“This conclave has the potential to mark a turning point in national orientation,” he said.

The Asantehene further lamented what he described as weakening public trust in leadership across politics, business and public life.

“Every four or eight years, we welcome leaders with great hope. Yet too often, loyalty is short-lived, trust is fragile and our heroes soon end up in the depths of disappointment,” he observed.

He warned that without rebuilding confidence in leadership and institutions, Ghana risked undermining the foundations of democracy and national cohesion.

“Democracy requires elections but nation-building requires trust. Democracy changes governments but trust sustains societies,” he noted.