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Stop Belittling and Denigrating the Ability and Competency of African Women!

In the Holy Bible, it is stated that God created man before a woman. Many people do not understand why God took this action but I believe He might have used man as a rough draft before coming out with the final masterpiece, in this case the woman. This clearly shows how unique and precious women are. A woman is the epitome of tenderness, care and wisdom. Women’s contribution to nation building cannot be over-emphasized. This could be seen in all sectors of the African economy – agriculture, health, education, public service, trade, among others. Although, women constitute over fifty percent (50%) of the world’s active population, the number of women in politics leaves much to be desired. Besides, women continue to face discrimination, abuses and prejudice. This unfortunate situation therefore calls for more pragmatic policies geared towards gender equality in all spheres of life so that the livelihood of the African woman could be improved. In his Inaugural Address in June 2000, at the UN Session in Beijing, our own Kofi Annan who was the then UN Secretary General remarked; “the future of this planet depends on women”. The implication is that without women, development and the survival of the human race will remain elusive.

The onus therefore lies on the various political parties in Africa and more especially, Ghana to ensure that the welfare and empowerment of the Ghanaian woman feature prominently in their plans, policies and programmes. But what is the current situation in Africa now? Apart from the president of Liberia, Her Excellency, Ellis Johnson, men have dominated the topmost political positions in Africa. The situation in Ghana under Mills-Mahama administration, as far as the record, policies, programmes and attitude of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) towards women is very pathetic. The NDC claims to be a democratic party and thus believes in the tenets of democracy yet the response of the party’s functionaries to the recent resignation of Mrs. Rawlings and her intention to contest the sitting President for the party’s flag-bearership slot cuts a slur on the party’s credibility. But why should this happen to a woman of Nana Konadu’s calibre? Is Konadu’s case not a clear manifestation of the ruling P/NDC’s negative attitude towards the generality of Ghanaian women? Is it because Mrs. Rawlings lacks the qualities of a good leader? Is it because Konadu, together with her husband, illegally acquired state assets? Is it because she was once said she regretted being born an Asante? Is it because she wants to give more identification hair cuts to men who date her daughters? Is it because she wants to act as a conduit for her husband, J.J. Rawlings to rule the Ghana once again and cause more mayhem? Is it because Nana Konadu wants to buy more Jacuzzis or is it because she has unfinished business of making the rich and the poor equal? Ghanaians would like to know from Nana Konadu’s detractors.

Still in Ghana, one can look at the horrible and despicable treatment of women during the Rawlings’ AFRC/PNDC era with deep emotions. Whilst many married and unmarried women were stripped naked and given lashes, others were raped, some had their businesses and assets confiscated and an uncountable number of them killed. The abduction and killing of Mrs. Cecelia Koranteng-Addo who was nursing a baby is still fresh in the minds of her fellow women. Again, between 1997 and 2000 under the Rawlings-Mills administration, over 34 innocent women were mysteriously murdered and no pragmatic action was taken to arrest the perpetrators of these callous murders. How could the NDC therefore convince Ghanaians that it is a party that has the requisite capacity to ensure the safety and protection of women? The mere introduction of the Cash and Carry System – a killer health policy as well as the pulling down of the Makola Market in Accra shows the uncaring nature of the NDC towards women’s issues.

In fact, our hard working women do not need a rocket scientist to show them how their socio-economic and political situations have deteriorated over the last two years.  The President of the Republic of Ghana, Prof. John Mills promised to give 40% ministerial appointments to women but ended up with only 11%. Asked why 11% and not the 40% promised, Mills had this to say; “Ghanaian women are not interested in politics”. Since John Mills undeservedly became the leader of Ghana, not a single policy or programme has been designed to empower our Ghanaian women politically, socially and economically and this is evident in the introduction of new taxes, high interest rates which discourage potential borrowers as well as the abnormal increase in utility tariffs.

In addition, some of the Ministers under his mediocre government have been so rude to our women to the extent that they brand female politicians as prostitutes. I hope John Jinapor – the vice president’s Spokesperson and Hannah Bissiw – the Cuban trained specialist in the welfare of ants, cockroaches, dogs, snakes, mosquitoes and other animals are listening. Surprisingly, Akua Sena Dansua whose home region houses the 3,500 Trokosi slaves could not even use her position as Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs to free these innocent women and girls from this bondage. In the end Akua Dansua whose primary up to tertiary education was funded by the tax payer, had the gut to advise some female students not to prolong their education all because it poses a threat to their marriage. Today, all the executive members of the NDC, together with government appointees have been attacking the former first lady with disrespect. Her crime? Her readiness and willingness to contest against a lame-duck President. For instance, the Eastern Regional Chairman of the NDC, Julius Debrah describes Mrs. Rawlings’ action as rubbish and that NDC members and sympathizers are not “Zombis”. The Communications Minister, Haruna Iddrisu argues that Ghanaians are not ready for a female president yet he fails to tell us when the time will be due. Is it not a case of the Minister belittling and denigrating the ability and competency of Ghanaian women? Kwesi Pratt, a die-hard unofficial member of the NDC says he would use all the necessary means to prevent Nana Konadu from becoming a president in Ghana. The General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia believes the NDC party is not like a one-man church. So my mothers, nieces and sisters; is the National Democratic Congress not an anti-women?

It is in the light of the above that I urge all African leaders to follow the pragmatic steps taken by the former president of Ghana, His Excellency, J.A. Kufuor in addressing women’s issues. Under his New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) administration between 2001 and 2008, a new ministry known as the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs was created and it was raised to Cabinet status to ensure that all official policy gave consideration to women’s interest. In effect, not only did domestic violence and child trafficking decrease, but also gender equality was enhanced in Ghana. The fear and panic that gripped Ghana prior to the 2000 general elections under Rawlings and his puppet, John Mills, where thirty four (34) women were serially killed, vanished into thin air in 2001 after the arrest of one Charles Quansah who confessed to have killed 8 out of the 34 murdered women. President Kufour appointed 25% of women into his administration and Ms Elizabeth Ohene, one of the influential women in Ghana’s contemporary politics emerged as the first appointee of Kufuor. Again, a Free Maternal Care policy which enabled pregnant women to have access to free medical care was in fruition, there was the introduction of National Health Insurance Scheme as well as the capitation grant which reduced the financial burden of parents on their children’s education.

Having realised that majority of women were more dominant in the Private Sector, especially petty trading, the NPP government set up the Micro Finance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), where micro credit was extended to women who engaged in economic activities with the view to reducing poverty levels and vulnerability. The Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) policy which enabled the aged and vulnerable to access between GHS 8.00 and GHS 15.00 was very commendable. Besides, the party strategically put in place measures to ensure that more females represented their constituents in the 2008 parliamentary elections. Consequently fifteen (15) female Members of Parliament in Ghana won parliamentary elections on NPP tickets as against four (4) by the ruling NDC and one (1) from the CPP respectively.

In winding up, I would add that if it is generally accepted that the successful development of any nation basically depends on the expansion of individual human opportunities; and the involvement of the masses in the development process including women who form majority of Africa’s population, then efforts must be made to eliminate all cultural, religious, legal and economic constraints that hinder the full participation of women in self and national development in order to maximize their productivity and that of the nation. In this endeavour, I appeal to all women to join hands with the political party that has proven by words and deeds that it has the welfare of women at heart. Besides, the women themselves who are the ‘victims’ of injustices must become ‘activists’. They should not be passive, silent, submissive and adapted until the necessary changes are made. On this note, I exhort Obaapa Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings to be resolute in her quest to become the flag-bearer of the NDC in the upcoming congress. The voice of Friends of Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings (FONKAR) is the voice of the NDC, so Nana Konadu go, go, go high. Who knows you could become the next Yaa Asantewaa of Ashanti and Ghana? I can’t wait to see NANA of NDC versus NANA of NPP in Election 2012. It will be “All die be die”.

God bless Ghana! African women!!  God bless Kufuor!!!

Katakyie Kwame Opoku Agyemang, Hull. UK

katakyienpp@yahoo.co.uk 07944309859

“Vision, coupled with persistency, results in true success”

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Reverend Jerry John Rawlings?

Former President of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings
Former President of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings
Britta Ayim, Accra

A revered man of God in Ghana, the Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams, at a service on December 31, said God has revealed to him that the former President of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings will become a priest in the future. The former President and the first family were at the service

Archbishop Duncan Williams, the founder of the well-known Action Faith Ministries, has in the past been criticized for being too close to and too cozy with the former first family. The man of God said it was because of the call of God on the life of Jerry Rawlings that he, the Bishop, had stayed close to the former first family.

In delivering the sermon to welcome the children of God into the New Year, the Archbishop said:

“I tell you and I am speaking prophetically that this man [Rawlings] would end as a pastor…And I have known this for a long time…you just wait and see”,

the Archbishop noted and revealed further that Rawlings himself is very much aware of this “call” on his life and for that reason once upon a time, enrolled into a seminary to become a pastor but dropped out of the program under rather inexplicable circumstances.

When given as opportunity to address the congregation, the former President confirmed that he has a craving for doing God’s work and expressed the hope that he would either start his own church or join the Action Faith Ministries when the appointed time for him to start his ministry comes.

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Where Ghana Went Right: How one African country emerged intact from its post-colonial struggles, John Schram

President Kwame Nkrumah, Family and Chiefs

John Schram, Senior fellow with the Queen’s Centre for International Relations, Former Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Liberia from 1994 to 1998.

Early one December morning in 1965, a few months after my arrival in Ghana, I was jolted out of a tropical sleep by a pile of Daily Graphic newspapers whumping onto the concrete floor of my small room.

“What are those for, Atinga?” I called out groggily to Atinga Naga, the residence cleaner, as he stood at the door, several more such loads balanced in his arms.

“You’ll see!”

And indeed I did. Within minutes came an eruption of shouts, rubber flip-flopped footsteps, and slamming screen doors — unusual noises amid the staid gentlemanliness of Legon Hall, my University of Ghana residence. I leaped up and joined the swarm now flying from bathroom to bathroom, where we found our worst fears realized: the country, in its ninth year of independence, had run out of toilet paper. The new Ghana on which I had staked my future was in crisis.

Not many weeks later, in the dark early morning of February 24, 1966, we heard the sound of distant guns and knew instantly there had been a coup d’état. The campus — and the capital, Accra — erupted as cheering crowds danced in euphoric and spontaneous celebration.

The sudden dearth of toilet paper was far from the only warning sign. Many of my new university friends had claimed for some time that Kwame Nkrumah, the nation’s first president, had lost his way. At the end of October, Nkrumah had hosted a summit of the Organization of African Unity, founded in 1963 in the wake of a continent-wide flood of successful independence movements. He saw the Accra meeting as his chance to win support for his vision of a united Africa, and to show what his brand of socialism had wrought in Ghana’s own eight years of freedom. To him, all Africa was embarked on an irreversible wave toward political and economic independence. And he and Ghana should lead the way.

As it turned out, he was disappointed. Armed with his engaging smile, Nkrumah took centre stage at the oau summit, but soon found that most of the continent’s new leaders shared the British and American suspicion of his obsession with a united continent, and distrusted his motives for and commitment to “scientific socialism.” Only thirteen of thirty-six African heads of state actually came to Accra, and the conference ended with neither continental commitment nor popular enthusiasm at home.

In the Legon Hall residence, the excitement of the event was quickly forgotten. International journalists billeted with us had eaten up our entire year’s allotment of rice and meat. As a result, we suffered an unpopular Yam Festival, consisting of two meals a day of yam: boiled, fried, roasted, and mashed. No rice, no meat. Just yam.

More seriously, disenchanted Legonites accused Nkrumah of fixating on grandiose infrastructure projects: the new seaport and planned city at Tema were a waste of hard-won cocoa earnings; likewise the vast hydroelectric dam, the man-made Volta Lake and its aluminum smelter, the new airport, and the four-lane highway connecting Accra to the port at Tema. Most vociferously, they condemned Job 600, the huge luxury-lodging project designed to impress upon visiting oau leaders the suitability of Accra as the future capital of the United States of Africa.

For a small-town boy from Ontario, this was confusing stuff. I was reminded daily that the African independence wave had moved with proud visibility and relative order to sever the colonial bonds with Britain or France. But I could sense that for new African countries like Ghana there was a hidden cost: Ghanaians, like so many other Africans, were becoming irreconcilably divided between the traditional elites who had expected to take over from the colonialists, and the popular “masses” who had in fact led the struggle, and whom Nkrumah represented. I was surrounded at the university by both the disaffected and the Nkrumah loyalists. Within days of my arrival, three hall mates, suspecting that I might be an American cia plant, had climbed over my balcony, intent on converting me into a solid Nkrumahist.

Their altruism was buttressed by a growing horde of professors from Eastern Europe, Fabian socialists from the London School of Economics, American communists, and hopeful African-American academics, all of whom wanted to help build in now-independent Africa the socialist utopia denied them at home. None of them seemed overly concerned by the increasing security presence, arrests (Ghana had some 1,200 political prisoners in 1965), or disingenuous propaganda issuing forth from the leader’s ubiquitous Convention People’s Party media. To the contrary, Nkrumah’s message sounded to them quite credible: if Ghana and its African neighbours were to be truly independent, they had to outwit the neo-colonialists, control the market, produce centralized five-year economic plans, and borrow however much it took to manufacture anything and everything then being imported from the former colonial powers. If this meant collectivized farming and tight bureaucratic control of prices, wages, imports, foreign travel, and currency — or a few years in James Fort Prison for members of the country’s traditional elite — so be it. The end, the Nkrumahists believed, really did justify the means.

I was all for this, too. Ghana had paid for my Commonwealth Scholarship. Now, here, I had found everything a young man could want: Oxbridge on a tropical hill just beyond Accra; luxurious residence halls, gardens, courtyards, and fountains; an Institute of African Studies with a roster of remarkable international experts; all the Star beer one could drink; good friends; and lively dances under the palms to Ghana’s infectious highlife music. I was impressed, too, with the country’s free health care, and with its free post-secondary education, which my hard-working Ghanaian colleagues seemed to regard as a serious responsibility (not for them the nightclubs of Accra). Though a law school graduate from Toronto, I was no match for their broad classical educations, their debating skills, and the sheer elegance of their written and spoken English.

These Ghanaians were confident, assured, and welcoming. They were in at the start of the new Africa then, and they are very much part of a new Africa now. Today their names are quite recognizable: John Atta Mills, then a field hockey star and law student, now president of Ghana; Nana Akufo-Addo, in 1965 a dedicated Nkrumahist, now the converted free market presidential candidate for the New Patriotic Party; Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, then a high-achieving student, now the internationally respected head of the Electoral Commission of Ghana; Kwesi Botchwey, then an undeniably smart man about campus, now a professor at Tufts, and, until he quit in frustration, the architect of Ghana’s eventual transition to liberal market policies.

They were a seemingly random group at the time, but their lives have come to reflect both the evolution of much of Africa over a half century of independence, and the changing relationship between Africa and Canada. They illustrate, too, what has happened to disappoint and then encourage in Ghana, neatly mirroring the good times and the bad across much of Africa. Their stories have been repeated in Botswana, Sierra Leone, Mali, Tanzania, Senegal, Nigeria. If they have now become the bedrock of Ghana, they are equally a portent of Africa’s future. Encouragingly, their lives prove the exception to the sense of drift and malevolent change that descended on all newly independent African countries in the decades following that initial burst of pride and hope.

The first frenzy of rejoicing at Nkrumah’s demise soon wore off. Ghana’s coffers were bare. Where Nkrumah was said to have wept upon hearing there was no money left to finish the Volta River project, we at the university cried as our hall residence tables were cleared of Milo, Ovaltine, and Maggi sauce. We were being forced to join the masses in losing the small luxuries most Ghanaians now saw as the stuff of life: Norwegian sardines, Argentine corned beef, American Uncle Ben’s rice.

I, too, found the new situation disconcerting. I had lost both the subject of my master’s thesis — the Convention People’s Party — and a good deal of my naïveté. I had come to Ghana expecting to be part of a new vision for an independent Africa. Then, overnight on February 24, 1966, the coup rendered Nkrumah and all that he stood for unmentionable.

I was far from the only Canadian who had arrived hoping to take part in Ghana’s bright future. During my first year there, a friend named John Bentum-Williams, recently returned with a degree from the University of Western Ontario, whisked me away for a holiday in a small northern town. Surrounded by Ghanaian friends and cooled by big, cheap bottles of beer, I thought myself a modern-day explorer. This happy delusion fell apart when I spotted, on the opposite side of the bar, another white face, a woman’s. For most of the night, we managed to avoid each other, but in the end pressure from Ghanaians baffled by such jealousy resulted in an introduction: she was Lynn Taylor and, like me, from London, Ontario. She was in Ghana for two years as part of an enthusiastic contingent of volunteer secondary school teachers fielded by Canadian University Students Overseas and the World University Service of Canada. Adventurous and committed young people like her were scattered in villages throughout Ghana and, for that matter, all over Africa.

The traffic between Africa and Canada during the 1960s — sponsored by governments, churches, service clubs, and universities — spoke of an infectious desire to be involved in the changes sweeping the continent. And it went both ways. Those bringing the best of African youth to Canada hoped to help train the next presidents, senior civil servants, doctors, lawyers, etymologists, and engineers of post-independence African nations. Some, like John Bentum-Williams, returned home to bolster the leadership pool. As the continent struggled, however, many other African elites began to stay abroad, the start of a problematic but ongoing bonanza for Canada. What persuaded growing numbers to leave their homes, friends, and families? How did Africa get from the heady days of independence to a continent that many in Canada perceive only as a place of despair? In the bad, as eventually in the good, Ghana showed the way.

After the coup, the military government initially set about putting the country on a democratic foundation, promoting the candidacy of Kofi Busia, a diminutive, scholarly sociology professor, representative of the right-of-centre elite, who had fled the country under Nkrumah’s rule. He was elected prime minister, and the Western world rejoiced. Canada quickly invited him to pay a state visit, which he did in November 1970. By this point, I had returned to Canada, and the first task of my first real job in what was then the Department of External Affairs was to hold Busia’s briefcase as he was rushed from Rideau Hall to the Office of the Prime Minister, from parliamentary question period to talks with top Canadian International Development Agency officials about more Canadian aid. Though continued Canadian funding for Ghana was certainly forthcoming, the trip was not entirely successful. Busia and his entourage looked askance at having to brave a cold winter rain to plant a commemorative tree in the gardens of Rideau Hall. They rushed away from Canada early to attend French president Charles de Gaulle’s funeral, as much impressed by the dreariness of Ottawa in November as by the generosity of Canadian hospitality and our support for African development.

Back home in Ghana, Busia didn’t last long. His promises of good government went unfulfilled, the economy continued to decline, and he acquired many of the habits that had been Nkrumah’s undoing. Ghanaians quickly grew disillusioned with his inability to put more money in their pockets, and suspicious of his apparent ties to the United States and Britain. They were incensed when he sharply devalued Ghana’s currency; they were irritated by his flashy motorcades and ostentatious security. For most Ghanaians, life in Busia’s “Western” democracy was no better than it had been during Nkrumah’s socialism.

Like so many other Africans, Ghanaians had become ensnared in the Cold War trap, pulled in opposite directions by the ideological proxy battles being waged across the continent by the Soviet Union and the United States. Newly independent nations like Ghana found themselves playing one side against the other to win more aid; imposing trade and business controls; and silencing opposition instead of developing a capacity for independent policy formulation and effective government. The heroes of freedom struggles across Africa eventually became all too proficient at this game, winning Soviet or Western military support and often-self-serving aid, but sacrificing much of the independence they had fought for. To maintain their hold on power, they exploited the pull of petty local nationalism and maintained an enveloping government media. And so Africa sank into an abyss of inflation, corruption, one-party states, dictatorships, conflict, and coups. When Busia was tossed out in another military putsch, in 1972, it was no surprise to my friends from the University of Ghana — or to me, in my new post as a junior officer with the Canadian High Commission in nearby Lagos, Nigeria.

As always with the military governments that drove out so many of Africa’s early leaders, the new Ghanaian regime only accelerated the state of decline. Much the same had happened in Nigeria. We had arrived in Lagos as a newly minted embassy family in 1971, with the country still reverberating from the bloody civil war that had pitted the central government and much of the country against a doughty but soon all-but-destroyed Biafra (Nigeria’s former Eastern Region). We drove frequently over the next few years from Lagos to Accra, relying on our two small children to win the hearts of the customs and police officers who manned the countless roadblocks and border crossings. Amid near-universal economic collapse, these petty officials were bent mainly on collecting a “dash” from defenceless travellers making their already unpleasant journey from Nigeria through Dahomey (now Benin), across Togo, and into Ghana.  (press the button below for next page)

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Kufuor is a Genius

Former Ghanaian President J.A. Kuffour

Fellow Ghanaians, permit me to use this opportunity to share some thoughts with you with regard to the remarkable achievements of His Excellency, the ‘Gentle Giant’, John Agyekum Kufuor under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration between 2001 and 2009.

In sharing this thought, I would urge my noble readers to consider among other things, the tenure of office vis-a-vis the population of Ghana, the available resources and the actual work done. In this way, you would agree with me as to why President Kufuor remains the most successful President of Ghana. In my subsequent articles, I will be examining the socio-economic and political impact of the policies and programmes executed in the key sectors of the Ghanaian ‘ecomini’ notably; education, health, transport, sports, energy, among others. Efforts will also be made to make a comparison between Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and J. A. Kufuor in terms of their achievements as leaders of Mother Ghana.

According to Martin Luther King Jr,

“the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy”.

To this, Gordon Brown, British prime minister adds; “leadership is tested not by what happens in the best of time but by what happens when things are difficult”. To say that President Kufuor has earned his place in the annals of African politics would be a very gross understatement.

Readers cannot forget so soon the gloomy state of the economy when the Kufuor-led NPP administration assumed the reigns of governance in 2001. The enthusiasm and excitement that greeted the new administration were similar to that of 6th March, 1957, all because to majority of Ghanaians, the era marked the end of culture of silence, tyranny, economic hardship, corruption, human rights abuses, mediocrity, lawlessness and police brutalities that characterised the 19 year dictatorial rule of Rawlings’ P/NDC administration. In fact, tribalism had been covertly and overtly been institutionalised in all public and private institutions. Ghanaians were therefore anxiously looking forward to seeing their “Moses” to free them from bondage. Cindy Thompson’s ‘Ewurade Kasa’ lyrics were on the lips of everybody. The rate of inflation was high, interest rate was high, the unemployment rate was high, social infrastructure was nothing to write home about, there was high incidence of social vices, there was general insecurity in the country, the cash and carry system was killing the poor, the educational system was in a mess, there were series of demonstrations (Kume Preko, Sie me Preko) and strike actions including those of bread sellers, officers of the prison service and the almighty  ‘mmobrowa struggle’ which I was a leading member and a victim of the abuses. There was high incidence of corruption especially among public officials and last but not the least, the serial killings of women put fear among the women folk.

Ghana nurses go on Strike, a common language in the West African country

As B.R. Hayden posits; “the first proof of a man’s incapacity to achieve is his endeavouring to fix the stigma of failure on others”. However, as a man born to succeed, His Excellency, J. A. Kufuor did not see the state of our economy as a problem, but rather as a challenge to modify his approach for better things to come through the party’s campaign message of positive change. It is in the light of these that on assumption office, he moved quickly to bring to the fore credible programmes and policies with competent team to execute them.

The excellent work done by the Kufuor-led NPP administration is there for all those whose five senses, in addition to their common sense, are working to perfection, to see, hear, feel, taste, smell and judge objectively. Without much ado, I will just highlight some of the remarkable feats chalked by President Kufuor, which include among others, the construction and rehabilitation of five sports stadia, the Presidential Palace (Golden Jubilee House), the Accra-Tema commuter railway line,  the Keta Sea Defence, the Bui Dam & Bui City Project, the Boankra Inland Port (under construction), major feeder and trunk roads (Accra-Kumasi-Aflao-Kasoa-Cape Coast, Aburi), several by-passes in Accra and Kumasi including the Asafo interchange, the restoration of Peduase Lodge, the drilling of several boreholes culminating in the solution to the perennial water problems in Cape Coast and Tamale, the expansion of the Aboadze Thermal Plant, the Kofi Annan Centre for Excellence, state-of-the art wood village at Sokoban, Kumasi for Anloga carpenters, the accident centre at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), over 56 model secondary schools including science resource buses, the presidential special initiatives on cassava, oil palm etc, the affordable housing project, the cocoa processing plant in Kumasi, the West African Gas Pipe Line as well as the expansion of the road network from 39,000 km of accessible roads to 65,000 km.

In fact, under the distinguished leadership of His Excellency, President J. A. Kufuor, good governance was at its peak. He tolerated all shades of opinion and continues to do so in the face of extreme provocation even as of now. He was constantly at the receiving end of insults and abuses from ‘Dr.’ Asemfoforo, an NDC paid serial caller and J. J. Rawlings, who at one time referred to the then sitting President as ‘Ataa Ayi’ – a notorious armed robber. Ghanaians witnessed the National Reconciliation, the reburial of three former heads of state namely; Okatakyie Afrifa, Gen. I.K. Acheampong and Gen. F.W.K Akufo and five senior military officers, who were executed in 1979 by J. J. Rawlings, the repeal of the criminal libel and seditious laws which had provided 10 years’ maximum imprisonment for reporting intended to injure the reputation of the state, the People’s Assembly concept which made it possible for Ghanaians to interact with the President and his Ministers on yearly basis, all-inclusive governance with the likes of Mallam Issah (PNC), Dr. Paa Nduom, Prof. Badu Akosah, Prof. Hagan – all CPP leading members, working under the NPP administration, the facilitation of the appointments of Dr. Ibn Chambas as the Secretary General of ECOWAS and Ekwow Spio-Garbrah as Chief Executive Officer of CTO, the creation of 60 additional districts and raising some of them to municipal & metropolitan status to facilitate local governance, the increase in the District Assembly Common Fund from 5% to 7.5%, plethora of FM Radio stations, regular media encounters with the President, broadcasting of news in the major local dialects on the Ghana Television (GTV), which hitherto had been in English and Akan, the passage of the Representation of the People Amendment act (ROPAA) into law to enfranchise Ghanaians in the diaspora, the expansion of mobile phone network across the length and breadth of the country, the creation of Public Sector Reform Ministry to develop a new and positive mindset for public sector workers, the creation of the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs to empower women and improve their lot, the creation of the Ministry of Chieftaincy Affairs to tap the rich expertise of our noble traditional leaders, the National Identification Authority, the Disability Act, the improvement in the conditions of service of health personnel and lecturers, general discipline in the Ghana Armed Forces, the deconfiscation of assets of noble and hard working citizens seized by J.J. Rawlings, the removal of June 4 and the 31st December public holidays from the statute books, the transfer of members of the 64th Infantry Regiment to other units,  the enforcement of Rule of Law culminating in the 3-day official visit of a sitting US President and the then Deputy PM of the UK, John Prescott.

My dear readers, it was not by accident that this noble son of Mother Ghana, His Excellency, President J. A. Kufuor featured regularly at all G-8 Summits. His excellent diplomatic relations with world leaders enabled Ghana not only to attract attention and investment worldwide, but also he was unanimously elected to chair both the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Under his leadership, Ghana had the opportunity to assume the rotational presidency of the UN Security Council. President Kufuor also won several international awards including the Chatham House Prize Award in 2008 as a result of peace and economic growth which characterised his two terms in office. No wonder he was given a rousing welcome by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II of England.

Again, President Kufuor took a leading role in mediating in regional conflicts including those in Liberia, La Cote D’Ivoire, Sudan, Guinea and Zimbabwe.  Ghanaians should not lose sight of the fact that, Kufuor is not the only ex-President of the Republic of Ghana. There were others who unfortunately died in exile, some died miserably in Ghana and a particular dictator was mandated to ensure the eradication of mosquitoes in Africa. However, as a true democrat, he was even criticised by his own party members and sympathisers for not ‘hanging’ onto power before the Tain by-elections when the NPP’s Presidential Candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo was leading in the 2008 Presidential elections. He is on record as the only President who left office in the peaceful manner in which he entered it. This is indeed a lasting legacy because all his predecessors were either overthrown by the military or metamorphosed themselves into civilian presidents.

Furthermore, a lot of people benefitted from the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) where the aged and other vulnerable people were paid monthly allowances of between 8 and 15 Ghana cedis. The micro finance loans were meant to help small and medium-scale businesses, the Export Development Fund (EDIF), the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which makes it possible for local producers to access the US market, as well as, the Ghana Poverty Reduction Programmes I & II were all aimed at improving the lot of Ghanaians.

The NPP under Kufuor managed the economy with dynamism, competence, commitment, integrity, ingenuity and innovation. It was in the light of these that the party was able to undertake pro-poor policies and programmes like the free basic education through the capitation grant, the school feeding programme where pupils from some selected public basic schools were given one hot meal a day, the National Health Insurance Scheme to replace the cash and carry system and make health care affordable, the release of 250 brand new buses to GPRTU, the metro mass transit, the Ghana International Airlines (all meant to improve the transportation system), the free maternal care to reduce child mortality, the Northern Development Fund with a US$25m seed fund to reduce the North-South poverty gap, free bus ride for school kids, construction of 14 fishing harbours in our fishing communities, the activities of the Zoom Lion Company Limited to rid our cities of filth, the creation of the Youth Fund with a $50m seed money and the National Youth Employment Programme, which rolled out seven programmes including community police, teaching assistance, health care, agric extension, etc to reduce the country’s high unemployment.

Between 2001 and 2008, the introduction of mass cocoa spraying exercise coupled with the persistent increase in the producer price of cocoa, subsidised fertilizer, prompt payment of bonuses and the importation of 1,331 brand new tractors went a long way in increasing the annual cocoa yield from 350 metric tonnes in 2000 to 750 metric tonnes in 2006 with an income of US$1bn to the economy. This feat alone moved Ghana from the 4th position to the 2nd position in terms of the world’s leading producers of the product. It must however, be noted that the new tractors exclude the 2000 tractors that Mahama Ayariga, Alban Bagbin, and the other greedy NDC members stole recently. The above-mentioned pragmatic policies and programmes, in addition to the plethora of financial institutions, quadrupled the size of the economy from US$3.9m to US$16.3m between the said period, thus ending the year with GDP growth rate of 7.3%. Whilst inflation was reduced from 40% in 2000 to 9.8% in 2006 (single digit) and later 18% in 2008, interest rate fell from 50% to 25% during the period under consideration. The daily minimum wage was increased from Gp 42 (4,200 cedis) in 2000 to 2.25 Ghana cedis (22,500 cedis) in 2008.

I hope fair-minded Ghanaians would admit the fact that, the relief with which the redenomination of the currency brought to us, especially the businessmen cannot be over-emphasised. All these went a long way in bringing down the unemployment rate in the country. No wonder, nutters like Koku Anyidoho and Fiifi Kwetey always babble that they were ‘successful’ bankers before they entered politics. The sensible manner in which President Kufuor handled the energy crisis, the May 9 stadium disaster, the resettlement of Liberian refugees, as well as the Ya Na’s death needs commendation.

Fellow compatriots, it is again on record, that the national senior football team, the Black Stars qualified for its first ever World Cup under the NPP administration. The international recognition given to Ghana and the money accrued from the Black Stars’ participation in the tourney had a positive impact on the economy.

The successful hosting of the African Cup of Nations (CAN 2008) which was described as the best since its inception, the bronze medal won by the Black Stars, the Ghana @ 50 and its ‘legacy’ projects like recreational parks, renovation of public buildings and historical monuments across all the 10 regions and their district capitals, as well as the successful hosting of the AU Summit is a feather in our cup.

I cannot continue highlighting these successes without mentioning the remarkable feat chalked by our noble party in the education sector. We all knew the state of our educational system when Jeremiah Rawlings-led NDC was at the helm of affairs. A New Education Reform was put in place in 2007 with special emphasis on Maths, Science, Vocational and ICT with the teacher as the pivot around which the reform would revolve. The computerisation of the SHS admissions to reduce corruption and hassle of parents, the Baah-Wiredu Laptop project meant to give one laptop to every school child, the upgrading of all the 38 Teacher Training Colleges into tertiary status, including my alma mater-Wesley College, the distance education programme to address the accommodation problem in the tertiary institutions, the Untrained Teacher Programme, the Access Course to Teacher Training Colleges for SHS graduates who could not do well in Maths and English, all meant not only to upgrade the knowledge of the teacher, but also to beef up the teacher population and subsequently helping to address the falling educational standards in the country.

Nor is this all, for, the proliferation of private universities from 4 to 16, the expansion of existing infrastructure in the public universities and other public tertiary institutions through the GETFund, the restructuring of the SSNIT Loan Scheme for students and more importantly, the Single Spine Salary Structure for public sector workers including our noble teachers and the new 3-tier pension scheme made the NPP a force to reckon with. The per capita income increased from US$300 to US$700 from 2000 to 2008.

My brothers and sisters, you would all agree with me that, the building of VALCO at Tema was one of the significant achievements of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. This is due to the significant number of employees that was employed by the company. But what happened afterwards, if I may ask? The company which was basically owned by the Americans had to be purchased by the Kufuor-led NPP administration at a cosmic sum of US$20m. Is this not a credit to the NPP under Kufuor?

The NPP under His Excellency, J. A. Kufuor, did its best to fight against corruption. For instance, a minister of state under his administration was charged for wilfully causing financial loss to the state and together with other members of the previous government, was sentenced to a prison term. Ghana was the first country in Africa to submit herself to the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). It would also interest readers to note that for the first time in 50 years, Ghana under the leadership of Kufuor earned a respectable B+ rating on the international financial scene in 2006 and this indeed, facilitated the country’s successful bid to access over US$ 750m from the Eurobond market. The passage of the Public Procurement Act, Financial Administration Act, Internal Audit Agency Act, which made the agency exceed its revenue target every year, the Office of Accountability Act, the Whistle Blowers Act, the importation of new police uniforms and over 1000 police vehicles to combat crime, the Right to Information bill, the establishment of Fast Track Courts, the excellent handling of the MV Benjamin cocaine scandal where Kwabena ‘Tagor’ Amaning was jailed, the strengthening of state institutions like the SFO, CHRAJ, among others, were all geared towards the eradication of this social evil in the Ghanaian society.

Last but not the least, Ghana under Kufuor’s reign became the largest recipient of Millennium Challenge Account funds of US$547m to combat poverty in Ghana, by focusing on agricultural and rural development projects. The bilateral and multilateral debt cancellations as a result of Ghana joining the Heavily Indebted and Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and the World Bank’s lucrative job for His Excellency, J. A. Kufuor even before the 2008 general elections, and more importantly the oil find, would make President Kufuor peerless in the annals of Ghana’s history.

In conclusion, I would urge all right-minded Ghanaians to join me in saying a big thank you to His Excellency, John Agyekum Kufuor, for his sterling performance between January 2001 and January 2009. The man, who began his administration with HIPC and left Ghanaians with oil in commercial quantities, deserves better. Success, according to Arnold Glascow, is simple: do what is right, the right way, and at the right time. This, I strongly believe, was achieved by the New Patriotic Party under J. A. Kufuor and could only be disputed by all those who are blinded by political hatred. The fact that he awarded himself with an ‘expensive’ medal, his failure to appoint another competent person to man the Roads and Transport Ministry after the exit of Hon. Dr. Anane – a hard working minister though, the ex-gratia saga, the hotel Kufuor saga, the sale of Ghana Telecom which had a parliamentary approval, his inability to sanction Alhaji Moctar Bamba, if indeed there was an evidence of any dubious act, clearly show that, he is just a mortal fallible soul. As a human, President Kufuor has his own weaknesses but these should not override the notable role he played in moving Ghana forward. ‘Mpanin se, barima b3y33 bi na woama am3y3 ne nyinaa’. The hardship being handed to Ghanaians by Mills-led ‘greedy bastards’, team B or mediocre administration confirms Georges Duhamel’s statement that, “we do not know the true value of our moments until they have undergone the test of memory”.

God bless Ghana! God bless NPP! God bless Kufuor!

Katakyie Kwame Opoku Agyemang (a.k.a. Paulucious) Hull, UK MEd in (Education) kpaulucious@yahoo.com 07944309859

“Vision, coupled with persistency, results in true success”

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