President Nana Akufo-Addo has charged Ghanaians to support the state in its quest to achieve economic independence.

He said the country's growth demands a collective responsibility from the citizenry, adding that government cannot solely improve the economy if people do not play their respective roles.

Speaking at the 65th Independence Day celebration in Cape Coast on Sunday, Mr Akufo-Addo said the nation can bounce back to its feet and build the economy it wishes for if all citizens prioritise their duties.

He stressed that this move will reduce the country’s dependence on foreign aid.

“I will not renege on my plans to help create a progressive and prosperous Ghana. I, however, cannot do this alone; I need the backing of each and every one of you if we are to bounce back together and build a Ghana beyond aid.

“Not everyone is ready to take the next step to the recognition that accelerated national development can best take place with the considerable increase in revenue mobilisation,” he said.

The President also cautioned against acts that seek to undermine the country’s democracy due to the economic crisis faced by the state.

He reiterated that the phenomenon of coup d’etats has not advanced the cause of the African continent; hence, it must not be tolerated or entertained.

“Let us guard jealously the peace and stability we are enjoying. Unfortunately, there are some restless spirits amongst us who, seeking to exploit the current difficulties confronting the nation, claim to have lost confidence in our democratic system to affect a peaceful constitutional change in the governance of our state.

"Either the absence of faith in the prospect of a democratic alternative to the current government or their impatience to wield executive authority are the factors driving their appetite for the shortcut of military intervention.

“Whatever be the case, they seem ready to jeopardise the hard-won reputation of our country as a beacon of democracy and stability in Africa and indeed, in the world, in order to gratify their personal ambition, ambitions which show little or no respect for the capacity of the Ghanaian people to change when necessary their government peacefully through the ballot box, something we have done on three separate occasions in the 29-year life of the fourth republic.”

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley, has called on Ghanaians to work together to protect the country’s cherished democratic principles and values.

Mia Mottley, who was the special guest of honour at the 65th Independence Day anniversary, charged citizens to contribute their quota in building a country with a resilient economy and robust democratic principles.

According to her, nation-building is a collective duty between the government and its people and, therefore, there is the need for citizens to collaborate with government in improving the lot of Ghana.

“We have to work together in solidarity and fight the battles of our day and the challenges that there appears to be, for whether it is the climate crisis that affects us or whether it is the spirit of war that is raising its head yet again, or whether it is the obsession by some who have not been elected to take power from those who are duly elected.

"We have a duty to stand tall and protect the principles of democracy, the principles that are anchored in the constitution and the principles that we are committed to in the United Nations Charter," she stated.