Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, Chairman of Groupe Nduom paid a courtesy call on former President John Agyekum Kufuor on Friday, 15th July, 2022.
This was to inform the former President about what he has been doing these past three years, why he has been absent from Ghana and the 2020 elections as well as his plans going forward.
The former President received Dr. Nduom with great enthusiasm.
It will be recalled that after the 2000 elections, President Kufuor appointed an inclusive administration which included CPP, PNC and independents.
Dr. Nduom had contested the election then to become the MP for Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) on the ticket of the CPP.
Dr. Nduom was initially appointed Minister for Economic Planning and Regional Cooperation and also Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC).
He worked very closely with the former President to fashion the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) and get it through Cabinet. It is this GPRS which was used to help qualify Ghana for HIPC benefits with Mr. Yaw Osafo Maafo as the Minister of Finance.
He was appointed Energy Minister at the height of Ghana’s search for oil. President Kufuor during his second term of office appointed Dr. Nduom as Minister for Public Sector Reform.
This led to a number of reform initiatives including pension and salary administration (introduction of single spine) and others.
President Kufuor and Dr. Nduom travelled together to a number of international assignments in the UK, France, Spain, USA and a number of African countries.
Perhaps a defining moment in their relationship was the appointment of Dr. Nduom to lead a stalled Millennium Development Challenge project which led to the USA giving Ghana a $547 million grant for a number of projects including the construction of the N1 Highway (Tetteh Quarshie to Mallam).
Former President Kufuor knows Dr. Nduom’s family very well so they had a good discussion about his family and how his children are doing.
Dr. Nduom discussed the reasons why he had been absent for so long from Ghana including health and business challenges.
He told the former President he had been paying particular attention to his business operations in the USA particularly the bank especially given the reputational damage caused by the loss of the Ghana banking license and the accusations made about illegal money transfers.
All these he hoped would be proven false through the courts and administrative processes.
The former President wished him well and prayed that all will be well for him to return to Ghana to play a meaningful role in the development and job creation.
Dr. Nduom presented the former President with an enlarged and framed front page of the Today Newspaper which featured photographs taken at the State Department in the USA when the MCA compact was signed between Ghana and the USA.
He expressed his gratitude for the MCA assignment and the support the former President gave during the process.
As a sign of accountability, Dr. Nduom promised to help prepare a presentation on what the $547 million compact has accomplished in Ghana.
Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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President kufour, undoubtedly the most successful president in the fourth republic. Kufour's pro poor policies are still there for all to see. i.e. National health insurance, free mass cocoa spraying exercise leading to Ghana hitting one million tonnes of cocoa, capitation grant, metro mass transport,( Kufuor bus), school feeding program, micro finance and small loans centre, national youth employment program, 2 new stadia in Sekondi and tamale, discovery of crude oil in commercial quantities, hosting of CAN 2008, vibrant private sector, brand new offices for the presidency i.e. Jubilee house, jubilee parks in all 10 regional capitals then, started dualization of Accra-Kumasi highway, millennium challenge account, banks had accumulated so much capital and were chasing workers to come for loans, kufour had an international appeal. Had good international contacts with world giants i.e. Shinzo Abe of Japan, Angela Merkel of Germany, George ***barred word*** of USA, Tony Blair of Britain, Queen Elizabeth 11 of Britain, Jacques Chirac of France, Holland and Belgium all had something positive for Ghana, In Africa he had good relations with Africa's giant Nigeria, president Obasinjo gave us fuel on credit payable every three months. The amazing thing is that Akuffo Addo was the foreign affairs minister then and you ask yourself whether he didn't learn anything from Kufuor. Kufour's government had a skill of moving government and party together so we saw a vibrant NPP for 8 years. The fact that Akuffo Addo led with 49% in the 2008 elections meant that the NPP was still the popular choice of Ghanaians thanks to the policies of Kufuor and his team. Kufour's elephant had big ears and listened a lot. The current elephant equally have big ears unfortunately it doesn't listen. At best it hears but won't listen thus the current sorry state in which Ghana finds itself . It's like nobody is in control. If not, how on earth will a roads minister suspend payment of road tolls unilaterally, now long vehicles from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger cross over into Ghana and use our roads in and out without paying a pesewa, at the same time Ghana's vehicles that cross into these countries pay road tolls in and out, can you imagine what went into the thinking of the roads minister? So which fund has he established to handle road maintenance in Ghana. We all saw the MP for suame and majority leader Kyei Mensah Bonsu being pelted with sachet water accompanied with hooting when he visited Kumasi, why because their roads are in bad shape, currently the road is been worked on. Is the NPP now telling the people that to get their challenges attended to, you need to throw stones and sachets water at ministers, MMDCEs and MP's to get their attention? The people of Ghana feels let down by this government, our hopes have been dashed. NPP supporters are not laughing, NDC supporters are not laughing. The one who's father is still alive is not laughing, the orphan is not laughing. No difference between the dead and the living in Ghana now. Indeed the orphan is fat better at least he can console himself by saying if his father was alive he won't be disappointed. This current elephant 2017-present is completely different from the kufour one. We thought it will perform much better than the 2001 -2008 elephant, unfortunately theirs is rather moving anti clockwise, too bad.If Akuffo Addo were to hand over to Mahama in 2025 he will go down as the worse president in Ghana's history. It's like throwing away your old car plugs for new ones only to realize the old plugs were firing much better than the new ones. Akuffo Addo has made Mahama look like a saint despite his short comings. This NPP is certainly NOT the NPP we saw under kufour, sad and unfortunate though. This one is a complete mess.
Former President Kufour is different from the current one in terms of nationality .The formal tried to bring people together while the other full of tribal and partisan. Now teachers are intimidated and any fill threaten by this Gov. when say anything wrong of them .This current one does not listen to any body unless what will praise him. We were hoping this current one could change things for the better, they are on the same track as the previous gov.