Ghanadot
Accra,
Nov 10,
Ghanadot
-
The
commissioning
of
Jubilee
House,
the new
presidential
palace,
was done
with
fanfare
and
flourish.
Present
at the
event
were
President
J. A.
Kufuor,
chiefs,
ministers
of
government,
a host
of
dignitaries,
and
invited
guests
from the
general
public.
President
Kufuor,
in his
assessment
of the
construction
history
of the
new
presidential
palace,
gave
credit
to the
First
President
of the
Republic,
Dr.
Kwame
Nkrumah.
Samia
Nkrumah,the
daughter
of the
late
president,
was also
at the
ceremony
and was
called
upon by
President
Kufuor
to help
cut the
tape.
It was
through
the
foresight
of the
first
president,
President
Kufuor
in his
opening
presentation
said,
that the
residency
of the
head of
state
was
moved
from the
Castle
to the
then
Flag
Staff
House,
the
present
site for
the new
palace.
President
Kufuor
regretted
the fact
that the
Castle
served
as the
seat of
government
for
Ghana
for this
long.
“It must
not be
forgotten
that the
Osu
Castle
has not
fulfilled
and can
never
provide
such a
centre
because
it was
physically
and
historically
a
purpose
built as
a
slaving
outpost
and
indeed
in many
parts
continues
to bare
the
indelible
scars
and
stigma
of that
inhuman
trade of
those
times.”
The
complex
is
named
Jubilee
House
and the
construction
was
financed
through
soft
loan and
a grant
from the
India
government.
The
expertise
for the
construction
was also
provided
by
India.
The
building,
the
India
government
representative
said,
would
serve as
a symbol
of
friendship
between
the two
nations.
President
Kufuor
in his
address
thanked
the
India
government
and said
the
offer
they
made was
too good
to
refuse
and
dismissed
the
assertion
by some
that the
money
spent
could
have
been
used on
better
projects
to
benefit
the
people.
President
Kufuor
insisted
that the
building
was not
built at
the
expense
of
essential
items
for the
people
or the
needy.
He said
Ghana
needed a
place of
its own
to house
the seat
of
government.
Jubilee
House
will be
the seat
of
government
and the
official
residence
of the
president
of
Ghana
from now
on.
The
consecration
of the
palace
was
officiated
by the
Arch
bishop
of Cape
Coast,
Cardinal
Peter
Appiah
Turkson.
