Former Manhyia North MP, Collins Owusu Amankwahhas disagreed with a poll conducted by renowned pollster Ben Ephson that indicates Alan Kyerematen, the front-runner for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential nomination, is losing support from party delegates.
According to him, Ben Ephson’s claim that Alan is losing popularity is false because his polls are not credible.
Speaking in an Akoma TV interview on April 13, Owusu Amankwah, who is a member of the campaign team for Alan, alleged that Ben Ephson makes favourable predictions for politicians who pay him.
“Nobody trusts Ben Ephson now. He sits in his office and listens to serial callers to make predictions.
“He predicted that the NDC’s former chairman, Ofosu Ampofo, is going to win at the end of the day, Asiedu Nketiah won. He said that John Badu (NPP’s former general secretary) would maintain his seat, but JFK won. He said Sam George will lose his seat… He is not credible.
“We will no longer pay attention to stomach pollsters, who make predictions based on your ability to pay. Sam George has come to say that if you go to him (Ben Ephson) and give him a fat envelope, he will make projects for you,” he said in Twi.
The former NPP MP also alleged that Ben Ephson, who is the managing editor of the Daily Dispatch newspaper, is now doing the bidding of Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who has also indicated his intention of contesting in the NPP presidential primaries.
“Today he has turned the Daily Dispatch into the Daily Bawumia,” he said.
Assin Central MP, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, says fellow flagbearer hopeful, Alan Kyerematen, has paid his dues and is well deserving of becoming the next flagbearer of the
fellow flag bearer aspirant Alan Kyerematen is deserving of the slot by virtue of his toils for the party.
Mr Agyapong told Sompa FM in the Kumasi metropolis that Mr Kyerematen has paid his dues to the party and, thus, deserves to be the flag bearer.
In is view, if people are arguing that Dr Bawumia deserves to be the flag bearer because he has been the Vice President for two terms, then Mr Kyerematen is even more deserving of that privilege.
“Yes, if Alan says it’s his turn, he deserves it because he has been in the trenches with the party from its inception as the president of the Young Executives Forum (YEF) which was the financial wing of the NPP in the early days”, Mr Agyapong noted.
He wondered: “Where were all these small boys who have been insulting Alan, when he was in the trenches working for the NPP”.
Flag bearer hopeful of the governing New Patriotic Party, Alan Kyerematen on Sunday (2 April) visited the family of the deceased Member of Parliament for Kumawu to console them.
The late Philip Atta Basoah was taken ill last week and died at about 10 pm on Monday (27 March 2023) while receiving treatment at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra.
Paying tributes to the man he described as a “younger brother”, Alan said he was saddened by the news about the lawmaker’s demise.
“I can fully understand the hurts and sadness in this house, in this family and the NPP as well as the whole country but I just want you to know that God allowed this to happen and I pray he finds a way to comfort and console all of us”, the former Trade Minister said.
Mr Kyerematen was joined by his campaign team to mourn the late NPP lawmaker.
Ashanti Regional Coordinator ‘Team Alan’ and former MP for Manhyia North Collins Owusu Amankwah recounted the frustrations the late lawmaker encountered stressing that, that did not discourage him from serving his party and constituents.
“It’s a sorry sight-seeing all of us gathered to mourn someone who was humane to be treated in such a bad manner and for me, I am comforted that he knew God and would be in a good place now”, the former MP stated.
For his part, the head of the family of the late MP Lawyer Asiedu Basoah thanked Mr Kyerematen and his team for the visit.
The death of the late Philip Basoah, he noted was a big blow to the family and members were yet to come to terms with the same.
He disclosed that the one-week traditional rites for the late MP would be held on the 27th day of April.
“The family has met and decided that the one-week rites should be held on the 27th day of April 2023 and we believe by that time we would have settled on the final date for the burial and funeral of our late brother and MP”, the family head stated.
Philip Basoah was born on 18 November 1969. He hailed from Kumawu in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
He held a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana (2000) and also earned a Master’s degree from the Paris Graduate School of Management in 2012.
He earned a medical laboratory scientist’s certificate in 1986, followed by GCE O’ levels in 1991 and A’ levels in 1994.
The late Philip Basoah was the project coordinator for the Ghana Education Service in the Ashanti Region. He also served as the district chief executive for Sekyere East between June 2005 and January 2009, under the aegis of the Ministry of Local Government.
He was previously a tutor at Agogo Senior High School, also in the Ashanti Region.
In the 2016 Ghana general election, he won the Kumawu seat with 21,794 votes (or 78.2% of the total votes cast), against the NDC parliamentary aspirant, Emmanuel William Amoako, who secured 5,899 votes (21.2% of the total vote).
The aspirant running on the ticket of the Convention People’s Party, Opoku Kyei Clifford, won 188 votes, or 0.7% of the vote.
In 2020, Basoah retained the seat with 14,960 votes (51.1% of the total votes cast). The candidate for the NDC, Bernard Opoku Marfo, secured 2,439 votes.
Kennedy Agyapong, a presidential candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has repeatedly discussed the financial contributions he has made to the party since its founding.
Additionally, he has contributed money to recent events, including more than 2.75 million Ghana cedis for the April 2022 local elections (10,000 cedis to each constituency).
Later in December, as his widow’s mite contribution to Christmas, he once more gave the party 9,000 bags of rice and other supplies.
He has disclosed a logistical donation made in 2016 as the party prepared for elections.
“Just this 2016, I bought 240 used pick-ups for NPP campaigns. Today, you are in power and you are telling Ghanaians not to buy used (cars)… what is the purchasing power of every Ghanaian in the country. How many people can afford new cars?” he asked during a public function.
The crux of his concern with used cars being the decision of government to ban the importation of such vehicles.
Ken Agyapong insists that the decision by the government is totally wrong and was not well thought off.
“You cannot bring a year to five-year-old cars because VW is going to produce brand new cars in Ghana, because Nissan is going to produce brand new cars in Ghana.
“The direct tax (we are losing) through customs is more than anything in the country. Look at the number of people who are going to lose their jobs. How many jobs are these companies going to create? We didn’t sit down to analyse all these things, we just come out with policies, don’t bring used cars,” he said.
He is considered a frontrunner in the New Patriotic Party’s presidential flagbearership race along with Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia and former Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyerematen.
Madam Georgina Amoafi Kingsley-Nyinah was laid to rest in Accra on March 17, 2023, following a funeral service at St. John Methodist Church, Tantra Hill.
On February 18, 2023, Mrs. Kingsley-Nyinah, a former national champion in ladies’ tennis, passed away in Accra.
Her late husband, Justice Joseph Kingsley-Nyinah, was a former Ghanaian electoral commissioner.
Madam Georgina Amoafi Kingsley-Nyinah’s love for Tennis started in her early years at the Adabraka Tennis Club and she maintained the passion throughout the years.
The climax of her competition career came in 1976 when she defeated Victoria Dowuona to win the Ghana Lawn Tennis Association Women’s Single Title.
She won the national title at the age of 44 and defeated her younger and powerful opponent who was 18 and pre-tournament favorite, prevailing over three sets of nail-biting tennis.
It was an extraordinary demonstration of skill, determination and strength of spirit which were the hallmarks of the career of the deceased.
It was the last competitive match of the woman known in Tennis circles as Auntie Georgina, who subsequently shifted from Social Tennis and also played Administrative roles in the Sport serving on the Board of the Ghana Lawn Tennis Club and on the National Sports Council for many years.
The Majority Chief Whip in Parliament, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, has asked former Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, to dismiss former Adentan MP, Yaw Buaben Asamoa from his campaign team.
According to him, the former Member of Parliament for Adenta, who is currently the official spokesperson for the Alan Kyerematen campaign, has become clueless about things surrounding him.
Stating this in a tweet, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, who is also the MP for Nsawam/Adoagyiri, said it is time Alan Kyerematen gets rid of Yaw Buaben Asamoa from his team.
“Mr. Alan Kyerematen should jettison YB off his campaign team. He simply cannot connect & has become clueless… I pity your campaign strategies… pathetic,” he wrote in a tweet.
In an earlier GhanaWeb report, Yaw Buaben Asamoa alleged that New Patriotic Party Members of Parliament are being coerced into supporting the bid of Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
He also claimed that the Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, and some leaders of the party are attempting to force some MPs to join the vice president on a planned visit to the Manhyia Palace.
“Now as we speak, MPs are being called and threatened into joining a certain delegation for the upcoming Akwasidae just to prove that they have numbers and Annoh-Dompreh is into it.
“How are MPs who are supposed to be thinking and strategizing about protecting their seats being forced into joining a presidential campaign and are being threatened? Akwasidae is coming and we will all witness it. They are saying 100 MPs will follow the Vice President,” he said.
Alan Kyerematen is vying for the vacant position of the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), even as he hopes to become president of Ghana.
Political analyst Mr. Owusu Ansah is against the idea of former Trade Minister, Alan Kyerematen, becoming President of Ghana one day.
According to Mr Ansah, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate would not be able to manage an entire economy as he was unable to effectively run a ministry.
He said that “the one district one factory initiative was a laudable idea, and I expected them to have executed it well, but what do we see? Alan Kyerematen went there and messed things up. Alan is a disgrace to Ghana. He went to the ministry and messed things up. What is the state of the sugar factory now?”
“To date, the Komenda Sugar Factory has not seen the light of day,” he added.
On the current economic crisis, he said the NPP has an opportunity to turn things around.
New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential aspirant, John Alan Kyerematen, has donated an amount of GH¢5000 to the family of the late Christian Atsu.
The former Trade Minister made the kind gesture when he joined the bereaved family hold a one week celebration for their beloved Christian at the Adjiriganor Astro Turf on Saturday.
Mr Kyerematen paid respect to the family and extended his warm greeting to sympathisers gathered.
— The Independent Ghana (@independent_gh) March 4, 2023
Among the dignitaries present were Sports and Youth Minister, Mustapha Ussif, President of the Ghana Football Association, Kurt Okraku, his predecessor, Kwasi Nyantakyi. They also made donation to the family.
The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) flagbearer candidate Alan Kyerematen has said he has a better chance of ending the eight-year trend for his party.
According to Alan Kyerematen, the NPP required a candidate who is popular with the general public in order to break the party’s eight-year power chain given the country’s current economic difficulties.
Finding a leader who has a record that exceeds that of the NPP is, in my opinion, the most challenging task facing our party as we prepare for the general election. We require a candidate who can appeal to the entire Ghanaian populace, not only the NPP, he stated.
The flag bearer hopeful said this during a visit to the Upper East Region when he met with party executives, the clergy, traders, drivers, and supporters of the NPP.
Alan Kyerematen stated that winning an election in Ghana goes beyond political party and added that the individual leading the party must be appealing to the masses, “I think I fit the bill not just because I have been in this game for some time, but my appeal cut across political parties, religion and ethnic divide.”
The former Trade and Industry Minister who also spoke on URA Radio in Bolgatanga as part of his campaign tour to the region said his vision about transforming Ghana that started about 22 years ago could have fetched the country not less than 50 billion dollars (about $150 per person in the US) every year if the vision had been continued.
“So, you can imagine the transformation that would have occurred from that time up to now. As a country, it is time for you to have a new leader that understands business and understands how to move the private sector and support the productive sectors of our economy,” he added.
Under his leadership as Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyerematen said with support from the private sector, over 296 factories were established in different districts across the country in the past three and half years of the establishment of the government’s flagship policy ‘one district, and factory’.
“Two years ago, when I started talking about producing and assembling cars here in Ghana, people were not so sure. But to the glory of God, now we have all the major global auto companies assembling cars here in Ghana. Volkswagen, VW, Toyota, Nissan, Kia, Hyundai, and very soon, Isuzu, Honda. All these things could not happen by chance but the result of a big vision and that is what you need as a leader,” he stated
A flagbearer hopeful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Alan John Kyerematen has pledged to resuscitate Ghana’s ailing economy if given the nod as President.
According to the former Trade Minister, the economic crisis the country is facing will be a thing of the past if the Ghanaina populace rallies their support behind him.
“The current challenges that confront our economy will hopefully be a thing of the past. I want to assure you that if through your blessings and prayers, your own son becomes the leader of our party and subsequently the President of this country, I will bring the economy back to life. It will not be through my effort but by the grace and mercy of Allah”, he said.
Speaking during his tour of the Northern Region, Mr Kyerematen said NPP initiated a lot of social intervention programmes but fears a non-NPP government will discontinue all of them if they win the 2024 general elections.
He said it is the reason why it is crucial for the NPP to break the eight.
“The President has introduced many important interventions in this country. We have introduced the Free SHS policy, the One District, One Factory Policy (1D1F), Planting for Food and Jobs and many others. Your Majesty, it will be a tragedy of history if the NPP is unable to continue in government. All these important initiatives will be discontinued if another government takes over”, he stressed.
The flagbearer hopeful continued to say “it’s therefore, our wish that for the first time in the history of our country that the NPP can continue after eight years in office so that all of these laudable programmes will be sustained”.
The King of Dagbon, Ya-Na Abukari II says media reports claiming he has endorsed Alan Kyerematen’s NPP flagbearership bid are false.
The former Trade Minister, who has resigned from government to pursue his flagbearership ambition, called on the King of Dagbon on Monday, and after the visit, some selected newspapers published that the Ya-Na had told Alan Kyerematen that it was Alan’s time to lead the NPP as flagbearer.
The King of Dagbon has categorically issued a disclaimer stating the reports are falsehood.
A press statement signed by the Secretary to the Ya-Na, rejected the concocted reports and affirmed the Ya-Na’s openness to the public.
“The attention of the Gbewaa Palace has been drawn to reports in various newspapers regarding the courtesy visit by the Hon Alan Kyerematen on His Majesty Ndan Ya-Na Abukari II. In particular, the reports suggest that His Royal Majesty had declared that it was the turn of Hon. Alan Kyerematen to lead the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) as a flagbearer,” the statement read.
“His Majesty wishes to state categorically that he made no such claim,” the release stated, adding, “I have not endorsed Hon. Alan Kyerematen and wish to state categorically that the doors of my Palace are open for all”, it added.
The King of Dagbon, Ya-Na Abukari II says media reports claiming he has endorsed Alan Kyerematen’s NPP flagbearership bid are false.
The former Trade Minister, who has resigned from government to pursue his flagbearership ambition, called on the King of Dagbon on Monday, and after the visit, some selected newspapers published that the Ya-Na had told Alan Kyerematen that it was Alan’s time to lead the NPP as flagbearer.
The King of Dagbon has categorically issued a disclaimer stating the reports are falsehood.A press statement signed by the Secretary to the Ya-Na, rejected the concocted reports and affirmed the Ya-Na’s openness to the public.”The attention of the Gbewaa Palace has been drawn to reports in various newspapers regarding the courtesy visit by the Hon Alan Kyerematen on His Majesty Ndan Ya-Na Abukari II.
In particular, the reports suggest that His Royal Majesty had declared that it was the turn of Hon.
Alan Kyerematen to lead the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) as a flagbearer,” the statement read.
“His Majesty wishes to state categorically that he made no such claim,” the release stated, adding, “I have not endorsed Hon.
Alan Kyerematen and wish to state categorically that the doors of my Palace are open for all”, it added.
Information reaching The Independent Ghana has it that a convoy of NPP Presidential aspirant, Alan Kyerematen, has knocked down a female motorcyclist in the Northern Region to death.
The unfortunate incident is said to have occurred in the morning of Wednesday, February 22, 2023.
The deceased, who is yet to be identified, was reportedly on the motorbike with her husband when the last vehicle of the convoy ran into them at the Agric Traffic Light Intersection at Tamale.
The woman died on the spot while her husband sustained severe injuries. He has since been rushed to the Tamale Teaching Hospital for treatment.
Eyewitnesses say that the Mitsubishi pick-up vehicle with registration number, GC 9415-22, ran through the traffic light while on top speed, following right behind the other cars ahead in the convoy.
The woman and her husband, according to the eyewitnesses, had seen the traffic light go green for them and had started moving when they were knocked down.
“This was a very terrible accident which was caused by Alan Kyeremanten’s convoy. A lady with her husband on a motorbike going to work and this convoy, the last car in the convoy was rushing to get to the rest of the convoy.
“They were on the road, the traffic had indicated green for them to pass, so they were going their normal way and this reckless driver came and knocked them down,” one eyewitness said.
The police have since conveyed the body of the woman to the Tamale Teaching Hospital morgue.
Alan Kyeremanten's convoy accidentally hits motorcycle in Tamale, the victim dies on the spot#INDNews Liverpool #LIVRMA#puresports Anfield Esther Smith Mama Esther KHOSI THE SPIRITUALIST Asamoah Gyan pic.twitter.com/plF6R8Lgtt
Minister-Designate for Trade and Industry, Kobina Tahir Hammond, has pledged to take off from where former Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyerematen left off.
He says the Government had been in power for the past six years and the blocks had already been laid, hence he will continue from where his predecessor, Alan Kyerematen, left off.
“Government has been in power for the past six years, and I’m just coming in at the tail end – two years to go,” he said.
Hammond, also the New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa, said this on Monday when he appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament for vetting.
He expressed concern over Ghana’s over-dependence on the importation, which had terrible effects on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
“I think it’s about time we took a serious look at this particular issue. I’m told a committee was put up by Cabinet to deal specifically with this matter.”
On his achievements as a deputy minister of Energy, Mr Hammond mentioned the expansion of rural electrification and the signing of contracts for the exploration of oil in commercial quantities, as some of the success stories under the Kufuor Administration.
During his tenure as a deputy minister of the Interior, the Kufuor Administration ensured that Immigration officers could carry some weapons on them, he said.
K.T. Hammond, in responding to the report of the Sole Commissioner on Judgement Debt, concerning the sale of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Drill Ship and the Government’s White Paper on it, which was raised by Mr Kwame Governs Agbodza, the Minority Chief Whip, the nominee said the decision to sell the Drill Ship was a cabinet one.
The White Paper also referred Mr Hammond to the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) for further investigations on the payment of $900,000.00 to the Law Firm ‘Constant and Constant’.
“Government further directs EOCO to investigate the mandate, authority and/or basis of K.T. Hammond’s disbursement of the $900,000.00 to the Law Firm ‘Constant and Constant’ to cater for future debts of GNPC to other creditors.’’
Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Majority Leader, urged the Committee to knock on the door of EOCO for further clarification on the matter.
Hammond spoke about other issues such as the One District, One Factory, tax exemption and other flagship projects of the Government, which, he noted, were great initiatives to spur economic growth.
According to Dr. Gideon Boako, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s spokesperson, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia will run for the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) flagbearership when nominations are opened.
He told Adom TV that his boss was ready to throw his hat into a race that included the likes of Alan Kyerematen, Kennedy Agyapong, Kwabena Agyepong, Francis Addai-Nimoh, Kofi Konadu Apraku and Boakye Agyarko.
Explaining the weight thatBawumia brings to the race, Boako said his boss was in politics strictly to serve unlike others who get in to amass wealth, stressing that the NPP and Ghana needs such a leader at this time.
He also stressed that with all the signs showing that the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) will field former president John Dramani Mahama in the 2024 elections, the NPP needed a Bawumia-type personality to match the opposition.
“In 2024, the NDC will surely bring Mahama, so we should get personality who can measure up to Mahama and then also we need to look at the level of knowledge the candidate brings on board.
“Unofficially, all Ghanaians believe that the vice president has demonstrated beyond his office and has been more impactful in modern-day political season is Bawumia. He did not just play a supportive role but he had major involvement,” Boako stressed.
Bawumia is Ghana’s sixth vice president under the 1992 Constitution. He occupies an office previously held by Kow Nkensen Arkaah, John Evans Atta Mills, Alhaji Aliu Mahama and John Dramani Mahama and Kwei Bekoe Amissah-Arthur.
Dr. Boako said all major achievements of the current government, listing among others: Zipline drone, Free SHS, mobilemoney interoperability, NABCo, digitization, Agenda 111, ambulances, before adding: “all these ideas and things, you cannot take Bawumia out.”
The NDC has a May 2023 date to hold its presidential and parliamentary primaries whereas in the case of the NPP, reports say the national leadership of the party and its caucus in parliament wanted an early congress which the presidency is opposed to.
A former member of parliament for the Offinso North Constituency and former minister of trade and regional cooperation, Kofi Konadu Apraku, under President Kufuor Agyekum’s administration, has stated that one of his main goals if elected to lead the New Patriotic Party(NPP) and Ghana, respectively, is to restore investor confidence in the nation.
Kofi Konadu Apraku, also a former chairman of the ECOWAS council of ministers, has joined Alan Kyerematen, Kennedy Agyapong, Kwabena Agyepong, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, and Mr. Addai-Nimoh in the race for the presidential candidature of the ruling New Patriotic Party.
According to him, the most important thing to do when he becomes president is to stabilise the economic nature of the country through programs and policies that will rake in the confidence that the current economic mismanagement has driven away from both domestic and foreign investors.
He said the plans and programs being proposed by his party colleagues, who are also vying for the presidential nomination, are not the necessary ones needed now, looking at where the country has gotten to.
He added that the best thing to do is to consolidate what the country has at the moment and make good use of it to stabilise the economy. He added that as part of his plans to stabilise the economy, he will first look at restructuring the government to facilitate cutting down expenses. This, he said, will help build an efficient, robust, and aggressive economy, which will create opportunities.
Apraku touted himself as the best candidate to lead the NPP to victory in 2024 owing to the fact that he has garnered all the experience and built great relationships with the rank and file of the elephant party.
It was a “red carpet” affair for the campaign team of the immediate-past Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, and his team when they arrived in Koforidua, the capital of the Eastern Region.
The New Patriotic Party stalwart, who is seeking to lead the party as its flagbearer, was in the region on a day’s tour when he got what can be described as a presidential welcome from the people of Koforidua.
Surrounded by traders, party supporters, and onlookers shouting praise in Alan Kyerematen’s name, the women laid their clothes on the streets for the politician to walk on, reports The Chronicle newspaper.
The report added that Alan Kyerematen, as part of his visit, paid a call on the Paramount Chief of the New Juaben Traditional Area, Nana Kwaku Boateng III, to officially inform him of his intentions to run as president of Ghana.
“In a closed-door meeting, Mr. Alan Kyerematen discussed matters of interest with Nana Kwaku Boateng III and some of his sub-chiefs. They also discussed his ambition to become flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party,” the report stated.
Alan also met with some executives of the NPP in the region, where he appealed to them to lend him their support as he aims to become their flagbearer.
A New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate hopeful, Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, has appealed to Ghanaians to vote to maintain his party in power in 2024.
According to him, this would contribute to maximize gains of the “solid foundation” laid by the Akufo-Addo government within the last 6 years.
Speaking at a media engagement in Ho during his tour of the Volta Region, Mr. Kyeremanteng said maintaining the NPP in power would ensure continuity of governance and a smooth administration of the state.
He said that policies and programs introduced by the government transcended into the growth of the economy before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
He disclosed that his Great Transformational Plan (GTP) is engineered to diversify the country’s economy by introducing 10 new sectors among other practicable initiatives to restore the economy,
Mr. Kyeremanteng asserted that only he can lead the NPP to victory in 2024 because he is capable of transforming the economy and his name resonates with the electorates in every nook and cranny of the country.
He said the establishment of about 6 new automobile assembling factories in Ghana, and the success of the 1 District 1 factory policy, among others indicates he is capable of leading “Ghana to rise again”.
He further indicated that the NPP must select a candidate who can increase its electoral fortunes in the Ashanti Region and reduce votes of the National Democratic Party (NDC) in the Volta Region to win the general elections.
“If we want to win this very important and difficult election ahead of us, we need a leader of our party who has the capacity to consolidate our gains in our stronghold.
“We need a leader who can win at least 80% of the votes in the Ashanti Region. For me, Alan is our best choice to do that.
“We also need a leader who can reduce the difference of our opponents in their stronghold, again to do that, Alan is the candidate”, he said.
He lamented the NPP’s inability to rake in a substantial percentage of total votes in the Volta Region in previous general elections.
“As I have said, people of the Volta Region have taken me as their son, as their friend, as their brother.
All that the people of the Volta Region are saying to the NPP is that if you bring Alan, we will vote for him”, he stressed.
He earlier held a closed-door meeting with NPP Executives in the region, and later took a tour of the Ho Central Market where he interacted with traders.
A former Member of Parliament who represented the people of Shama on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (Dr Ato Panford) has died.
According to reports he died on Sunday, February 12, 2023, in the morning. The cause of his death is yet to be disclosed, however, reports suggest he died at the GPHA Hospital in Takoradi.
Dr Panford was the MP for Shama in the Seventh Parliament of the Fourth Republic.
Until his demise, he was the senior Advisor of Enterprise Audit – AfCFTA National Coordinating Office.
Tributes have already started pouring in.
For instance, the former Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen has commiserated with his family and the party as a whole.
In a Facebook post, he said “I have received with sadness the passing of my very good friend and former Member of Parliament for Shama Constituency, Dr Ato Panford.
“I spoke to the wife, son and a few family members a while ago.
“Ato was an astute expert in International Trade and Commerce and distinguished himself as an Industrialist with over 25 years in the Private and Public sectors.”
Politicians are frequently buddies, despite their differences in ideologies or guiding principles, as has been said numerous times.
They still appear to find time to gather around the same tables and literally share bread after the outward displays of differences, apparent hatreds, and occasionally dangerously close calls.
When two prominent members of the rulingNew Patriotic Party (NPP) recently met on one of the main avenues in Koforidua, in the Eastern Region, it was such a circumstance.
The meeting between the immediate-past Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, and a former Minister of Energy, and one-time campaign manager of the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Boakye Agyarko, is one that has gotten many netizens talking.
In a video clip that has been shared on social media,Alan Kyerematen, who recently announced his intention to run as flagbearer of the NPP, is seen stepping out of his vehicle, mobbed by some few people, as he walks heartily to shake the hands of Agyarko.
In their interaction, Agyarko, who is also eyeing the same seat as NPP flagbearer, kind of called out Alan for visiting his township and refusing to ask of him.
But in his response, Alan indicated that he is headed for Krobo and that his colleague should wait for him there, amidst laughter.
The following is their interaction in Twi, and interpreted into English by GhanaWeb:
Agyarko: “Ah, you are in my township and…”
(The two laugh heartily)
Alan: “What I was saying was that I am heading to Krobo. Wait for me there.
Agyarko: “Where is your visa?”
(The two again laugh heartily and playfully)
According to details from dailyguidenetwork.com, the two were in Koforidua on Friday, February 10, 2023, as part of their campaign in the region, although Boakye Agyarko was the first to go to the region.
The NPP is yet to announce dates for its flagbearer race.
A lecturer on governance at Central University, Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah, has expressed his concern for impending instability at the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
This follows the appointments of Kobina Tahiru Hammond and Stephen Amoah by President Akufo-Addo as Minister of Trade and Industry and Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, respectively.
The appointments of the two became necessary after Alan Kyerematen, the former minister, tendered in his resignation in January 2023 so that he could focus on his presidential ambitions.
But reacting to the news of the appointment of the two while speaking on Peace FM and monitored by GhanaWeb, Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah said that knowing Stephen Amoah, the Member of Parliament for Nhyiaeso, the way he does, someone needs to speak with him.
He said that with the two personalities heading the Ministry of Trade and Industry, if care is not taken, it might result in a very chaotic situation at the ministry.
“When you take a look at the trade ministry, Sticker is my friend. He is hot; he does not lose arguments. He can go on with you for even three months without stopping. And then KT Hammond is also hot and now the two of them have been sent to one ministry.
“I plead that if the elders will speak with the two of them, it will help, otherwise, I see fire ahead.
Stressing that he is not one to wish such people doom, Dr. Otchere-Ankrah said that it is necessary that there is a balance between the personalities and energies of the people asked to be at the helm of organisations, even more so politically.
“I am not a prophet of doom, but there should be a balance of hot and cold so that must be looked at,” he stressed.
Among the new appointments made by President Nana Akufo-Addo to his government are Bryan Acheampong as Minister of Food and Agriculture; Stephen Asamoah Boateng as Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Studies; Mohammed Amin Adam, Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance; and Osei Bonsu Amoah as Minister of State for Local Government.
The New Patriotic Party should be led by Alan Kyerematen, according to Nana Akwasi Bosompra I, the paramount chief of Goaso Traditional Area of the Ahafo region (NPP).
He said this because the former Trade and Industry Minister has served the party faithfully and diligently since 1992, proving through his work that he has the qualities to lead the country.
Nana Bosompra, who presided over the Goaso Traditional Council when Kyerematen called on Nananom last Friday to announce his bid for the flagbearership of the NPP, noted that Ghanaians admire his competence, and the rich qualities he posses to lead the party.
Nana Akwasi Bosompra extolled the sterling leadership qualities of Hon. Kyerematen, including his ability to churn out results for productivity, his humility, and patience, as making him capable of leading the party.
As a result, Omanhene urged delegates to elect the former Trade and Industry Minister as their presidential candidate for 2024 as the Ghanaian electorate will willingly accept him.
The Goasomanhene blessed the presidential hopeful and assured him of his support invoking the support of Asanteman and Nananom of Ahafo region, reiterating the backing of the Golden Stool for Alan’s candidature for the flagbearership of the NPP.
A candidate for the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) presidential nomination, Alan Kyerematen, has acknowledged that the party is finding it challenging to develop a message for the 2024 general elections as a result of the deteriorating economy.
Speaking during a visit to the Sefwi Wiawso Traditional Council as part of his campaign tour, the former Trade and Industry Minister hailed the performance of President Nana Akufo-Addo but stated that the poor state of the economy will make it difficult for the NPP to convince Ghanaians to retain them in the 2024 general elections.
“Akufo-Addo has done well, when the NPP came, there was no free SHS, but we have brought it, planting for food and jobs, we have brought it, One District, One Factory, we have brought it, I can recount a number of the policies, but we all know that times are hard. We are all in difficulty, we have worked hard but due to the economic hardship, our key message for campaigning as a party for the 2024 election has become difficult for us.
“But you see, one of our main challenges as a country is how successive governments abandon policies they inherit from another government. This is what has derailed our development efforts. So I would wish that for the first time in the history of the country, allow the NPP to continue, so our policies can gain roots while we do away with the bad policies. If we mean well for the country this is what must happen,” Mr Kyerematen said in Twi.
Mr Kyerematen also urged the Chiefs to advise the delegates to select a flagbearer who would be acceptable to the entire country.
“The country is expecting a turnaround based on a big vision to be delivered with competence,” he said.
Mr Kyerematen said the overreliance on the government to build industries to create jobs needed to change to a more efficient way of empowering the private sector to create jobs for the people.
Mr Kyerematen noted that as Minister for Trade and Industry under President JA Kufuor, he initiated the Presidential Special Initiatives (PSI) in four different sectors of the economy, which could have yielded over $60 billion a year to the country, had the NDC not terminated them after taking over in 2008.
NPP flagbearer hopeful, Alan Kyerematen says Ghana is not able to develop as it should due to the 8-year-cyle term citizens have imposed.
Speaking during a visit to the Sefwi Wiawso Traditional Council, on Saturday, Mr. Kyerematen said “One of our main challenges as a country is the tendency for successive governments not to continue with their predecessor’s programmes and projects. This is what has derailed our development efforts.”
He, therefore, entreated the public to allow the ruling New Patriotic Party to continue to stay in office to ensure it completes its developmental agenda.
Alan Kyerematen however, noted that the worsening economic conditions in the country may affect the party’s chances in the 2024 general elections.
“Akufo-Addo has done well. He has initiated numerous programmes such as; 1D1F, Planting for Food and Jobs, Free SHS, but we all know that currently, times are hard. Due to this hardship, our key message for campaigning as a party for the 2024 election has become difficult to identify. I won’t lie to you, times are hard and any truthful person will tell you this,” he said in Twi.
According to Mr Kyerematen, he is the most suitable person for the NPP’s flagbearer position.
The Sunyani Traditional Council’s Chiefs and Queen Mothers have said that “God has decreed this as the moment for Alan Kyerematen to be president of Ghana.”
Nana Kwaku Sarbeng, Akwamuhene of the Sunyani Traditional Area, said he admires the patience and wisdom with which Alan had conducted himself since he conceded to let then-candidate Akufo-Addo go ahead of him for a shot at the presidency
Now, the traditional council believes it is the appropriate time for Mr Kyerematen to assume the country’s leadership and advised NPP delegates to choose their candidate for the 2014 general elections when they go to primaries later in the year.
Mr Kyerematen urged the Chiefs to advise the delegates to select a flagbearer who would be acceptable to the entire country.
“The country is expecting a turnaround based on a big vision to be delivered with competence,” he said.
Mr Kyerematen said the overreliance on the government to build industries to create jobs needed to change to a more efficient way of empowering the private sector to create jobs for the people.
Mr Kyerematen noted that as Minister for Trade and Industry under President JA Kufuor, he initiated the Presidential Special Initiatives (PSI) in four different sectors of the economy, which could have yielded over $60 billion a year to the country, had the NDC not terminated them after taking over in 2008.
He urged Ghanaians to ensure an NPP retains power in 2024 to consolidate the progress made under the current government, including the big industrial transformation project under the 1D1F, the Business Resource Centres, producing well-rounded entrepreneurs, the Technology Support Centres providing modern cutting-edge tools and Free SHS and TVET, among others.
All these initiatives have come to take advantage of AfCFTA, which is now making people describe Accra as the ‘commercial centre of Africa’, Mr Kyerematen said and urged Nananom to help the delegates take a good decision and select him as the candidate to continue the transformation on the foundation that the NPP government has built.
In conclusion, Nananom said they expected a natural progression from President Nana Addo to Alan, in the same way, they saw President Kufuor giving it to President Nana Akufo-Addo.
They further advised Alan to improve his slogan to “Alan Cash, Aduro wo so” since there was no doubt that God was on his side.
New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential hopeful, Alan Kyerematen has made a strong case for the delegates of the party to choose him as their candidate for the 2024 elections.
Speaking in an interview on Angel FM on Tuesday, January 31, 2023, Alan said that the party needs a candidate who can win not less than 80 percent of the votes in the Ashanti Region.
The former trade and industry minister added that not only can he win the party over 80 percent of the votes in the Ashanti Region but he can pull a good number of votes for strongholds of the largest opposition party, the NDC.
“We are not just looking for a flagbearer, we are looking for someone who can help the NPP retain power… Everybody knows that the Ashanti Region is the backbone of the NPP… And so for a difficult election, which I perceive is going to happen in 2024, you need a candidate that is going to win at least 80 percent of the votes in the Ashanti Region to guarantee us victory.
“You need a candidate who can do two things, consolidate your base and reduce the strength of your opponent. We all know that the base of the NDC is the Volta Region but many people have been asking why Voltarians like me so much.
“Everybody in Ghana knows that the people of the Volta Region have taken me to be one of them. I believe that I am the candidate who can win 80 percent of the votes in the Ashanti Region and also compete with the NDC in the Volta Region for their votes to be reduced,” he said in Twi.
Alan added that he has name recognition and he is known in every corner of Ghana.
“I have been working with Akufo-Addo all these years and there is no village where Akufo-Addo is known where I’m not known,” he said.
The former Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, is expected to face stiff competition from the likes of Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and former Food and Agriculture Minister, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, for the flagbearership position of the NPP.
Ahead of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) primaries, presidential hopeful, Alan Kyerematen, has pledged to modernise the party if given the nod by delegates.
The former Minister of Trade and Industry also hinted at establishing platforms that can generate resources to pay party executives, so as to allow them concentrate on party duties and responsibilities.
Having served as a minister for an accumulated 10 plus years, both under the John Agyekum Kufuor and the current Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo administrations, Alan Kyerematen has said that he will also put in place a pension scheme for the party executives who have devoted their entire lives to serving it.
Speaking during a radio programme in Kumasi, the trade and industry expert did not mince words in highlighting the need for funding party projects and motivating party officials and executives.
“There must be a platform and programmes for party financing. I have the record to have set up the Constituency Business Ventures in the past, that is your way of strengthening the party,” he said.
On the subject of party executives at the constituency and national levels, the seasoned politician suggested a salary structure for them, so that they can also focus on their primary jobs in the party.
He also suggested a pension scheme for committed and full-time party executives, to serve as motivation to others willing to work for the party.
“Full-time party executives must be on full salary to enable them to devote more attention to party work.
“There will be a pension scheme to retired party executives who devote all their time to working for the NPP.
“The focus should be on the party because it is the party that brings the government into power,” he added.
Alan Kyerematen also stressed the need for more attention to be paid to the concerns of footsoldiers, as well as other workers of the party who continue to work tirelessly to get the party into power but are then neglected, with no benefits to show for their efforts.
This trend, he said, must stop in order to build a strong party that is capable of convincingly winning elections in the future.
The longest-serving Minister of Trade and Industry has already confirmed his readiness to contest as flagbearer in the upcoming NPP presidential primaries, anticipated to be fiercely contested, scheduled for later in 2023.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) needs a Christian as its flagbearer moving into the 2024 elections, this is according to Samuel Ayeh Paye, a former Member of Parliament for the Ayensuano seat.
He argued that the 2024 elections would be decided on the basis of religion, which is why he urged the NPP to select a Christian over a Muslim as its flagbearer ahead of the general elections of 2024.
Speaking on Adom TV’s flagship morning show Badwam, the Eastern Regional Campaign Coordinator for Alan Kyerematen explained that since John Mahama, the NDC’s top choice, is a Christian and the majority of Ghanaians identify as Christian, it was instructive for the NPP to select a Christian over a Muslim to lead the party.
Hon. Ayeh Paye pointed out that statistics show that Christians make up the majority of our people, thus any effort by the NPP to choose a Muslim as its flag bearer could hurt the party’s chances of remaining in power in 2024.
“As an NPP, I believe we should introduce someone with a Christian background,” he stated on the show hosted by Akwasi Nsiah, noting that only 17 percent of Ghana’s population is Muslim, compared to the country’s overall 71 percent Christian population.
“Whether we like it or not, the NDC will bring John Mahama who is a Christian, and once that happens, it means the 2024 election campaign will even take its major course in the churches, so let’s be careful we don’t present a candidate whose religious background will become an issue against us,” he insisted.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential hopeful, Alan Kyerematen, was mobbed by his supporters, on Monday, January 30, 2023, as he arrived in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi.
According to reports, Alan is in Kumasi to pay a courtesy call on the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
A viral video of Alan’s arrival at the Kumasi Airport showed a crowd of supporters amassed at the airport as they awaited his arrival.
As he was alighting from the plane, some of the supporters could be seen jumping as they shouted, “this is the next president of Ghana.”
The former minister of trade and industry is expected to face stiff competition from Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and former Food and Agriculture Minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, for the flagbearership position of the NPP.
Meanwhile, the vice president has been projected to be the flagbearer of the NPP in a recent study co-conducted by Outcomes International Ghana and the Centre for Sustainable African Development Initiatives (C-SADI) UK.
According to the survey, the most popular candidate for the New Patriotic Party flagbearer position in all 16 regions of Ghana is the vice president.
In all, the survey got responses from around 197,000 NPP polling station executives (PSEs) in all the regions.
“Data was obtained mainly through computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) technology between 15th November 2022 and 15th December 2022. Based on 95% confidence level and 2% margin of error a sample size of 6000 PSEs was used. However, 5641 PSEs were successfully interviewed (response rate of 94%) from all 96 constituencies.
“Greater Accra region had the highest number of PSEs interviewed with 1142 PSEs followed by the Ashanti region with 869 PSEs corresponding to 20.2% and 15.4% respectively. More than half of PSE’s who participated in the survey were Akan (54% [n=3056 PSEs]), and 46% (n=2585 PSEs) were non-Akan. In terms of religious distribution, 78% of the PSEs were Christian whilst 20.6% were Muslim,” the report stated.
The Member of Parliament for Yendi, Farouk Aliu-Mahama, has said that Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia should be the flagbearer of his party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Being a presidential or parliamentary candidate of a party, he believes, should not be based on the number of years one has been a member of the party.
He said that people saying it is the turn of Alan Kyerematen to be the flagbearer of the NPP are wrong because there were people on the scene before him, including Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku, who contested with ex-President John Agyekum Kufour.
Aliu-Mahama, who made these remarks in a JoyNews interview monitored by GhanaWeb on Sunday, added that the vice president over the past few years has proven that he has the capacity and the competence to transform Ghana.
“My support for Dr. Bawumia is not because my late father wanted to see him at some point. I have seen the vice president, within the shortest possible time, become a force to reckon with in this country.
“He has moved the country as a vice president; he has done a lot. He has the vision to do more with the support of the president and has carried himself to the admiration of everybody; he is very competent.
“The vice president at least can lead Ghana to the promise land… Dr. Bawumia is somebody who stands tall, in the last 16 years, everything is about Bawumia. Even those who don’t like Bawumia are speaking about him,” he said.
He warned the party to be careful with how it handles the upcoming presidential primaries to ensure that it does not divide the party as it did in 2008, which led to the party losing the election.
He added that even though all the persons who have expressed interest in contesting in the party’s flagbearership race are competent, only one person can emerge as the winner.
Meanwhile, the vice president has been projected to be the flagbearer of the NPP in a recent study co-conducted by Outcomes International Ghana and the Centre for Sustainable African Development Initiatives (C-SADI) UK.
According to the survey, the most popular candidate for the New Patriotic Party flagbearer position in all 16 regions of Ghana is the vice president.
In all, the survey got responses from around 197,000 NPP polling station executives (PSEs) in all the regions.
“Data was obtained mainly through computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) technology between 15th November 2022 and 15th December 2022. Based on 95% confidence level and 2% margin of error a sample size of 6000 PSEs was used. However, 5641 PSEs were successfully interviewed (response rate of 94%) from all 96 constituencies.
“Greater Accra region had the highest number of PSEs interviewed with 1142 PSEs followed by the Ashanti region with 869 PSEs corresponding to 20.2% and 15.4% respectively. More than half of PSE’s who participated in the survey were Akan (54% [n=3056 PSEs]), and 46% (n=2585 PSEs) were non-Akan. In terms of religious distribution, 78% of the PSEs were Christian whilst 20.6% were Muslim,” the report stated.
Former Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Alan Kyerematen has announced his decision to organize a thanksgiving service.
The Interdenominational Thanksgiving and Empowerment Service, which will be held at 3pm on Sunday, January 29, 2023, comes off at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC).
In a Facebook post, the NPP flagbearer hopeful stated that the event is to thank the Lord for His grace and bringing him this far.
“Please join me on Sunday, January 29 at the Accra International Conference Centre to give thanks to the Almighty for His grace thus far,” he wrote.
Alan K, as he is fondly called, resigned as the Trade Minister having served in the Akufo-Addo administration for six years.
The decision he said is to help him focus on his mission to leading the party ahead of 2024 general elections.
New Patriotic Party (NPP) hopeful Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen has advised the government against adding specific bondholders in the Domestic Debt Exchange Program (DDEP).
According to him, vulnerable groups may lose their “appetite and desire” to save if the government goes ahead to include individual bondholders adding that this would be a dangerous thing that could happen in the country.
“When they invest money in bonds, it’s basically savings because instead of them putting the money under their mattresses, they are putting their money in secured instruments.
“If we touch the investments from these vulnerable groups, we are also making them lose the appetize and the desire for saving and that is the most dangerous thing that could happen to a country,” myjoyonline quoted the aspiring flagbearer.
He added that having a debate about including individual bondholders scheme is creating a platform for very serious negative discourse.
“In my view, having a debate about including individual bondholders and those involved in this collective scheme is creating a platform for very serious negative discourse which could potentially create both domestic and international problems for us,” he said.
Meanwhile, convener of the Individual Bondholders forum, Senyo Hosi, In a statement on January 24, 2023, commended the government for reaching an agreement with the government.
The government of Ghana and the Ghana Association of Banks announced that an agreement had been reached to make some amendments to the terms of the domestic debt exchange programme.
The amendment includes an agreement to pay a 5% coupon rate for each of the twelve new bonds, resulting in an effective coupon rate of 9%.
It also added “the removal or amendment of all clauses in the Exchange Memorandum that empower the Republic to at its sole discretion, vary the terms of the exchange.”
The individual bondholders stated that “with the banks onboarding the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, the government is set to reach its 80% target.”
“The development reaffirms the need for government to exclude individual Bondholders, including individuals and Collective Investment Schemes (CIS), who account for less than 11% of the eligible bonds. Unlike the banks and other institutions who are set to benefit from various regulatory incentives, Individual Bondholders have no fallback nor incentives and will be condemned to shackled penury,” parts of the statement read.
Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Samuel Abu Jinapor, on Monday officially took over the Trade and Industry from Mr Alan Kyerematen.
The former Trade Minister, Mr Kyerematen was supposed to hand over to Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta per a statement from the Presidency dated January 6.
But Mr Kyerematen rather handed over to Mr Jinapor, whom he says, has been tasked by President Akufo-Addo to take over matters at the Ministry.
It is unknown why the swap in caretaker Minister but it is believed that government wants Mr Ofori-Atta to have his focus on the management of the economy deemed to be in crisis.
Mr Kyerematen tendered his resignation letter to President Akufo-Addo on January 5, in order to pursue his presidential ambition come 2024.
The $8 million office complex was built to house offices for supporting policy, financing vehicles, facilitating investments and customs, training and skill development, and testing and certifying vehicles.
Additionally, it features a showroom where vehicles made in the area can be seen.
At the event, a 19-member council, composed of stakeholders from both the private and public sector, was also commissioned with members drawn from both public and private sector entities.
Some private sector organisations with representatives on the council included the Ghana Automobile Dealers Association, the African Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Ghana National Association of Garages and the Vehicle and Asset Dealers Union of Ghana.
State institutions such as the Ghana International Trade Corporation (GITC), Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) as well as the ministries of Trade and Industry, Transport, Finance Employment and Labour and Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), are all part of the council.
The council was inaugurated as a requirement under the Ghana Automotive Development Policy, with the mandate to develop an effective economic consultation structure to effectively address any issues related to automotive assembly activities and to provide input into any policy review exercise.
The council is further required to promote the harmonious and integrated development and growth of vehicle assembly, automotive components manufacturing and their related trading activities in Ghana and externally, in collaboration with the key stakeholders in the industry.
Also, the council will make recommendations to government on the implementation of the Ghana Automotive Development Programme, including but not limited to the incentive and regulatory framework, access to industrial infrastructure, vehicle financing, training, technology upgrading, supplier development, as well as standards and safety.
Strategic sector
Mr Kyerematen said the automotive assembly and component manufacturing industry was universally recognised as a key strategic sector for stimulating economic growth and transformation, aside being “a powerful driver of employment, foreign investment, innovation and technology transfer”.
“The forward and backward linkages within the industry trigger an integration with other industrial sectors that lead to economic growth, creation of sustainable jobs and enhancing value addition to local resources,” he said.
He said it was on that score that the Ministry of Trade and Industry commenced the design of the Ghana Automotive Development Policy in 2018 aimed at making Ghana the automobile manufacturing hub in the sub-region as part of the government’s implementation of industrial transformation agenda.
Mr Kyerematen said the implementation of the automotive policy had strategically positioned Ghana as an emerging hub in West Africa.
“Ghana is on the path of becoming the vehicle manufacturing hub within the sub-region through the implementation of the Ghana Automotive Development Policy which has led to the attraction of six of the top ten leading original equipment manufacturers of the world to invest in Ghana.
The out-going minister said the government was currently working on a comprehensive auto-financing scheme that would ensure that “the ordinary Ghanaian” was able to afford a vehicle.
Mr Kyerematen added that as part of the government’s efforts to develop an integrated automotive value chain, the Trade Ministry had drafted the Ghana Automotive Component Manufacturing Policy to provide incentives and a regulatory regime to attract component manufacturers into Ghana’s automotive industry while taking advantage of the existing resource.
“I believe that with the indigenous expertise operating from Suame Magazine in Kumasi, Kokompe in Accra and other artisanal hubs in Tamale, Takoradi, Koforidua and other parts of the country, Ghanaians will enjoy the significant benefits an integrated auto industry offers,” he said.
Former Minister of Trade and Industry Alan Kyerematen was not bold enough to tell President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that the government has failed, a private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has said.
To that end, Mr Kpebu said Mr Kyerematen is unfit to to lead the country as President.
“Alan’s policies are dead on arrival. Alan should have been bold to say this government has failed and he will do better,” he said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday January 14.
Former Minister of Health under the Mahama administration, Alex Segbefia also asked Mr Kyerematen should be bold and state that the Akufo-Addo administration has failed.
He said Mr Kyerematen, who stepped down from the government, should have resigned long ago because of the failure of the government.
Mr Kyerematen after his resignation stated in an address to the nation that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has created a strong foundation for development.
Although he believes there are things that could have been done differently, he said the foundation laid will help in reviving the economy.
He said “My vision is to build a superstructure on this foundation that will bring prosperity to our nation, he said in a nationwide broadcast to officially declare his intention to contest the presidential primaries of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
He further explained that the pre-COVID-19 performance of Ghana ‘s economy, the flagship programmes including the Free SHS, the One District One Factory (1D1F) Initiative, the Planting for Food and Jobs programme, the Agenda 111 project and the COVID-19 Response initiatives, are all testimonies of the “strong leadership that the President has provided over the last six years.”
“In spite of all of the above however, it is an undeniable fact that the combined effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war has stampeded our country into a crisis of unprecedent proportions, with its negative impacts on the economy, on businesses, and on our social lives,” he added.
Contributing to a discussion on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday January 14, Mr Alex Segbefia said “It was over for him the moment he praised Nana Addo.
“Where we are you cannot praise Nana Addo. He should have left earlier. For you to praise Nana Addo, he lost it. Do the campaign, speak truth to us that this government has failed.”
He claims that Alan Kyerematen is a successful businessman who recognises the value of creating jobs in his industry.
He listed Alan Kyerematen’s accomplishments under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the creation of One District One Factory, the Ghana Automotive Development Center, and the presidential special initiative.
Speaking on TV3’s Key Points programme on Saturday, January 14, 2023, the former lawmaker said, “Alan is the man for jobs.”
“He is a businessman who understands business and creating jobs. Who doesn’t remember the Presidential Special Initiative (PSI), he makes it happen, automobile, 1D1F, he makes it happen,” he stated.
On January 5, 2023, Alan Kyerematen resigned as the Minister of Trade and Industry.
Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has appointed the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor as the caretaker minister of the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
A leading Campaign Coordinator for Alan Kyerematen, Boniface Abubakar Saddique has been exposed over a two-faced claims he has made, over the historic Dankwa-Busia- Dombo tradition of the NPP.
The much-revered tradition, which symbolises the founding fathers of the NPP tradition, representing three zones of the country, is highly regarded by faithful of the ruling party.
However, former Madina MP and a leading campaign coordinator for Alan Kyerematen, Boniface Abubakar Saddique was recently captured on video stating emphatically that there is no tradition as Dankwa-Busia-Dombo tradition in the NPP.
“There is no tradition like Dankwa-Busia-Dombo. It is UP. If someone tells you this is Dombo’s time, ask me; Dombo was a Dagati. He was a leader and a Chief,” Boniface told his audience as he aimed a veiled dig at proponents of those who believe it is time for those who represent the Dombo side of the NPP to lead.
Interestingly, evidence has emerged clearly exposing Boniface Abubakar Saddique as having used the same Dankwa-Busia-Dombo tradition to advance his political cause almost a decade ago.
In the run up to the 2014 NPP national executive election, Boniface, who campaigned for Paul Afoko to be elected NPP National Chairman, told the Daily Graphic that Paul Afoko represented the Dombo tradition of the NPP and ought be elected as National Chairman because others who represented the other two traditions have served in that capacity.
“Alhaji Saddique argues that today, former President Kufuor comes from the Busia tradition while Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo comes from the Danquah tradition, so whoever appears from any party of the North will represent Dombo,” Graphic Online reported, and further quoted Boniface as saying, “so I trust that Mr Afoko has come at the right time to enhance the electoral fortunes of the New Patriotic Party.”
Reports within NPP circles indicate that the former Minister of Works and Housing, who is reportedly nursing a running mate slot from Alan Kyerematen should he be elected NPP Flagbearer, has been going round bastardising the respected NPP tradition, in his campaign against Vice President Bawumia.
However, the emerged Daily Graphic report has badly exposed the former Madina MP and his inconsistencies.
He stated this at the center’s inauguration on January 12, 2023, and claimed that the government’s action aims to turn Ghana into the region’s center of the automobile industry in West Africa.
He continued by saying that the newly opened Ghana Automotive Development Centre would act as the sector’s secretariat.
“Ghana is serious about becoming the manufacturing hub for auto at least in West Africa and that is why government has invested an amount of about US$8 million to acquire this facility to ensure that under one roof, the ecosystem to support this industry is present and provided,” Alan Kyerematen said.
“So this building is going to be the secretariat for the auto industry development council,” he added.
Speaking in the same vein, the President of the Automotive Assemblers Association of Ghana, Jeffery Oppong Preprah said about 4,700 vehicles have been assembled so far in Ghana.
The vehicles, he said, are of high quality, and buyers would have value for their monies after purchasing the locally assembled vehicles in the country.
Government invests US$8m into construction of Ghana Automative Development Centre – Alan Kyerematen
Immediate-past Minister for Trade and NPP flagbearership hopeful, Alan Kyerematen has been slammed by Ghanaians on social media for an uninspiring address last night.
The former Trade Minister, who resigned from the NPP Government last week to pursue his NPP flagbearership dreams, addressed the nation last night, in what was onviously indented to be a major statement of intent.
Alan and his team, would have set a target of captivating Ghanaians with his major public address since his early resignation from government.
But the outcome appears not to have gone down well, as significant number of Ghanaians on social media have critiqued Alan’s delivery and message with a dim view.
The former Trade Minister announced his intention to contest the flagbearership race, outlined his policies, and in a stunning fashion, aimed a veiled dig at the NPP Government he has been part of in the past six years, until a few days ago.
What has earned Alan the biggest social media flak is his inference to the NPP Government he has been part of for six years as a ‘no action, talk only’ government.
While some have criticised him for being self-centred and hypocritical, in his attempt to absorb himself of any blame and also run away from the pressure the government is currently facing, others, some have also labelled his policies and general delivery rhetorics and uninspiring.
One observer passed a damning verdict on Alan’s delivery, giving him a pass mark of 2/10.
“I will give ALAN 2/10. I was not impressed. Nothing New. Just ENGLISH!,” wrote broadcaster Nana Jantua.
Another, Listowell Yesu Bukarson, a US-based Ghanaian journalist wrote: “this was supposed to project and announce him to the world as, at least, a force to be contended with by his political opponents, but it fell short by drastic proportions. Going forward, if he means business he must get his act together and reorganize his addresses, especially his CONTENT.”
“There is also a subtle attempt to insulate Mr. Alan Kyerematen from the mess created by this government. No amount of perfume can be used to wash Honorable Alan Kyerematen from the mess created by this government. That is the narrative that they are trying to push that he resigns so that we can insulate him from the mess? He cannot,” Mr. Mohammed stated.
“As a matter of fact he is a member of the Economic Management Team. On the day that Dr. Bawumia said that they have an Economic Management Team, he mentioned Professor John Baffuor, Alan Kyerematen. When he mentioned Alan Kyerematen he was so happy and has always acknowledged the fact that he is a member of the Economic Management Team,” the Tamale Central MP stated.
The lawmaker further added that Vice President, Mahamudu Bawumia cannot win the impending Presidential primaries of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
“Clearly the agenda of President Nana Addo and the Ofori-Attas is to get someone who will come and plunder the resources of Ghana. Dr. Bawumia is an active participant of how they have plundered the resources of this nation and they would want to protect him.”
“The disaster that is happening, he is the Chairman for the Economic Management Team. And trust me I will never be surprised that what they did to my father Aliu Mahama is the same thing they will do to Dr. Bawumia,” he reiterated.
“All those who know him and happen to have come in contact with this affable gentleman will attest to the fact that he is an astute politician, a very humble public servant, versed in his area of duty, coupled with excellent human relations which have endeared him to all who have happened to meet him on matters of trade and industry, especially, those of us in the private sector,” the release said.
The associaiton added that “We can confidently say that he has performed excellently and left an indelible footprint that will ever remain in our memories. So we see him as an asset not only to Ghana but also to the sub-regional and continental blocs, as well as the entire globe.”
Meanwhile, after his resignation, the president has appointed the Finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta as the caretaker of the Trade Ministry in the interim.
Former Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, has said one of the reasons Ghana’s economy is wobbling is due to its high dependence on the exportation of commodities.
He stated that most of the commodities exported are either of no or little value addition.
Making this known in an address to the nation on Tuesday, January 10, 2022, Alan Kyerematen said this has made the economy fragile and susceptible to both external and domestic shocks.
” One of the lessons that we have learnt from the recent developments is that Ghana’s economy is still fragile, vulnerable and susceptible to both external and domestic shocks. This primarily is as a result of the fact that our economy is highly dependent on the export of commodities with little or no value addition,” the former trade and industry minister said.
“Indeed, the 5.1% projected GDP growth for the Ghanaian economy for 2023 is based on the anticipated increase in commodity prices,” he added.
Alan Kyerematen, the outgoing Minister of Trade and Industry addressed Ghanaians on Tuesday, January 10, 2023.
Alan Kyerematen, among other things announced his intentions to contest the flagbearer slot of the New Patriotic Party.
Below is his full speech
NATIONAL BROADCAST BY HON. ALAN KYEREMATEN, OUTGOING MINISTER FOR TRADE & INDUSTRY
FELLOW COUNTRYMEN & WOMEN
FRIENDS OF GHANA
Let me start first by wishing you all a happy, healthy, productive and a prosperous New Year.
Secondly, I wish to express formally, my profound gratitude to His Excellency the President for the opportunity given me to serve the good people of Ghana in his Administration over the last six years, and for graciously accepting my resignation as Cabinet Minister responsible for Trade and Industry, with effect from 16th of January 2023.
Thirdly, I wish to use this platform to formally announce my decision to contest the flagbearership of the New Patriotic Party when the Party officially opens nominations for that purpose.
His Excellency the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been a good friend of mine and will always remain so based on our shared commitment to the ideals and principles that inspired the founding fathers of our great Party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP). We have competed in the past but have always worked togetherthereafter.
The President has laid a strong foundation for the socioeconomic development of our country, although I believe there are things that could have been done differently. My vision is to build a superstructure on this foundation that will bring prosperity to our nation.
The pre-COVID-19 performance of our economy, the flagship programmes including the Free SHS, the One District One Factory (1D1F) Initiative, the Planting for Food and Jobs programme, the Agenda 111 project and the COVID-19Response initiatives, are all testimonies of the strong leadershipthat the President has provided over the last six years.
In spite of all of the above however, it is an undeniable fact that the combined effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war has stampeded our country into a crisis of unprecedent proportions, with its negative impacts on the economy, on businesses, and on our social lives.
I have no doubt that the anticipated International Monetary Fund (IMF) Support Package will restore confidence in our economy, and bring it back to the pre-COVID levels.
Fellow Countrymen and Women
This is the seventeenth time that we have gone to the IMF over the last 57 years. We promised never to go back but we have gone back. One of the lessons that we have learnt from the recent developments is that Ghana’s economy is still fragile, vulnerable and susceptible to both external and domestic shocks.
This primarily is as a result of the fact that our economy is highly dependent on the export of commodities with little or no value addition.Indeed, the 5.1% projected GDP growth for the Ghanaian economy for 2023 is based on the anticipated increase in commodity prices.
To avoid going back to the IMF, we need a new Plan. A Plan that will lead us to a more self-reliant and resilient economy. That Plan must move Ghana fromStability and Growth to Transformation.
Fellow Countrymen and Women
If by the will of God and through your goodwill, I am voted first, as the flagbearer of the NPP and subsequently as President of the Republic in the next general elections, I will become the transformational leader of our time, who will build on the foundations laid by successive leaders of our nation over the last sixty-five (65) years.
To achieve this strategic goalof transforming our dear country to become the shining star of the new Africa, I will as President, launch and lead the execution of the Great Transformational Plan (GTP) of Ghanawhich will span the period 2025 to 2030.
The Post-COVID Economic Recovery Programme(P-CERP)currently being implemented with the anticipated support from the IMFfrom 2023 to 2025, will be a transitional economic programme leading to the roll out of thisGreat Transformational Plan.
Fellow Countrymen and Women
Before I proceed to provide a brief insight into the key elements of the Great Transformational Plan, seven critical considerationswould need to be taken into accountto guarantee the success of the Plan.
The primacy of the Private Sector in our national development agenda. The Private Sector, both domestic and foreign, formal and informal has to be at the centre of our transformational agenda. The Government’s focus must be to facilitate the process of making our private sector competitive, by creating an enabling environment for businesses. Attitude to work and enforcement of discipline. We as a people should appreciate the need for discipline in all spheres of our national lives and change our attitude to work. Whether you are working for the Private sector or for Government, as a worker, you are not doing a favour to your employer.It is your duty to ensure that you earn your living from the efforts of your labour. Corruption and petty theft or thievery, particularly from the public purse,deny our country the benefit of utilizing its tax revenue and other resources for the development of our country. The arrogance of power has been a major obstruction to progress in our country. People in positions of authority must understand that leadership is an opportunity to serve the people, and not to lord over them. In servant leadership, humility is an asset and not a weakness. Passion for excellence.As a country we must celebrate competence and excellence and not mediocrity. As a people, we must focus more on getting things done than talking. Ghana is gradually becoming a NATO country – “No Action Talk Only”. We need to remember that theuse of time is a zero-sum game. What Ghana needs now are solutions and actions not debates. And last but not the least, our politics in Ghana is too divisive. This keeps out some of our best talents in offering themselves for political appointments. Yes, we pride ourselves as being the bastion of democracy in Africa, but that does not mean that we should allow partisan politics to destroy our collective interests. These seven critical considerations outlined above,will provide what I will describe as the ‘soft power’for the effective implementation of our Great Transformational Plan.
Fellow Countrymen and Women,
Let me now provide a brief synopsis of the Great Transformational Plan (GTP). The GTP will be anchored on the following key pillars:
A Strong Macroeconomic Environment: The success of the GTP will depend primarily on strong macroeconomic fundamentals, which will include among other things, a stable currency, low inflation, sustainable debt levels, revenue optimization and tight expenditure control to guarantee fiscal balance, low competitive interest rates, strong external reserves backed by high levels of liquidity to support the financial sector. To a large extent, the IMF support programme when fully executed, will create the appropriate conditions that will underpin the Great Transformational Plan.
A New Agricultural Revolution (NAR) for Ghana: The NAR will be based on five critical elements. Introducing Technology and Innovation into Agriculture, through Research & Development (R&D) in Agronomy, Mechanization, Irrigation, and Plantation Management. This will build on the foundation laid by the Planting for Food and Jobs and Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD) Programmes. Our farmers cannot be competitive without technology and innovation. The establishment of Licensed Food Distribution and Marketing companies by the Private Sector throughout the country at the district level, to be supported by the Government. These companies will constitute a vital link between farmers and Market Queens in the urban and peri-urban areas.
It will be complemented by the introduction of a digitalized food distribution and marketing online platform which will connect producers to buyers and consumers. The strengthening of the Ghana Commodity Exchange as the marketplace for all actors in the Agricultural value chain. Deepening the current regime for lending and financing for the agricultural sector. Enhancing the de-regulation of the Cocoa sector by deepeningprivate sector participation in the buying and marketing (including export) of Cocoa. Mass Citizens participation in Agriculture by introducing an ‘Operation Own a Farm’programme for the Ghanaian citizenry in general. Industrial Transformation: This will build on the successes of Government’s Ten Point Industrial Transformation Programme including the One District One Factory (1D1F) initiative;the establishment of Strategic Anchor Industries to diversify the economy beyond Cocoa and Golde.g the Automobile assembly, Garment and Textiles, Pharmaceuticals and the Petrochemical industry;enhancing the growth and development of Small and Medium Enterprises;establishment of Industrial Parks and Special Economic Zones; and supporting Domestic Retail Trade and Distribution. Accelerated Infrastructure Development:Promoting Private sector financing for public infrastructure such as Roads, Railways, Ports and Harbours, Water Supply Systems, Public Housing etc, which will reduce Government’s exposure to the financing of such infrastructure projects.
Digital Mainstreaming: Digitalization will be mainstreamed in all Government and Public sector activities, building on the current work led by the Ministry of Communication and Digitalization. Energy Security and Diversification: Greater emphasis to be placed on developing renewable sources of energy, by fast-tracking the execution of Government’s energy transition strategy, including but not limited to nuclear and hydrogen energy. Decarbonization and Climate Resilience: Scaling up Government’s current efforts at reducing Ghana’s carbon footprints and facilitating access to the carbon trading markets, as well as establishing mechanisms to strengthen the country’s preparedness against the negative effects of climate change.
National Security and Defence Optimization: Deploying resources to strengthen National Security and Defence Mechanisms and Infrastructure, to deal substantively with emerging security threats and challenges, particularly in the Sahalian region. Downsizing Government: The architecture of Government will be overhauled by consolidating some existing Ministries, Departments and Agencies.This will mean running a lean Government structure that will ensure operational efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of Government services. Strategic Engagement with the International Community: Ghana’s diplomatic and economic relations with the International Community under the GTP will be predicated on the principle of ‘positive neutrality’, based on the strategic interests of Ghana, as well as our shared commitments for the preservation of peace around the world and respect for humanity. I will in the next several months provide further details of this Great Transformational Plan in the new ‘Alan K Prime Time Talk Show’to be introduced. I will also seek inputs from the people of Ghana as I go round in the regions and districts on my campaign tours.
Fellow Countrymen and Women
The execution of the GTP will require our collective efforts, irrespective of political orientation, ethnicity or religion. It will lead to a new dawn of Restoration, Rebuilding and Reward.
The future of our country is bright. I want you fellow countrymen and women,to make me your next President when the time comes, and you will see a significant difference in your lives.
Fellow Countrymen and Women,
I want you to invest in your own future by supporting my campaign. I will therefore be launching a mass“Ketewabiaransua” Campaign and “Adopt a Constituency Initiative”, which will afford Ghanaians from all walks of life the opportunity to be part of my campaign.
For all those who will have the honour and privilege of being Delegates to select the Flagbearer of our great Party, the NPP, please remember, Alan Kyerematen is your Candidate to win power for you in 2024.
Together We shall break the Eight!
As we do say in our local Ghanaian dialects:
#Akyeanaemmui(symbolizing Hope) #Mu sadaqa da yo; sabodaanfaani go be! (Let’s Sacrifice for the future) #Èkpè deka metunahò(r) o! (a symbol of unity and collective effort) #Mòfiaamòbaayenii! (we shall all enjoy) God bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation great and strong!!
Pollster and political analyst, Ben Ephson has slammed New Patriotic Party(NPP) Flagbearer hopeful, Alan Kyerematen over his comment that some policy decisions of President Akufo-Addo were wrong.
The immediate-past Trade and Industry Minister in his address to officially declare his intention to contest the flagbearership race of the governing NPP, commended the President for laying a good foundation for the country’s development.
He, however, stated that he disagreed with some of the policy decisions of the President.
The former Ghana’s Ambassador to the US said a future Alan Kyerematen led-government will mainstream the private sector as the engine of his transformation agenda and also run a lean government if given the nod.
“The President has laid a strong foundation for the socio-economic development of our country, although I believe there are things that could have been done differently. My vision is to build a superstructure on this foundation that will bring prosperity to our nation.”
But speaking to Naa Dedei Tettey on Morning Starr on Starr 103.5FM Wednesday, Pollster Ben Ehpson questioned why Alan Kyerematen did not resign as Trade and Industry Minister over these disagreements with the President as a matter of principle.
“If you are a minister and the President is exiting and you want to campaign and in your speech you say that certain things that were done could have been done better, maybe in the coming days he’ll want to go further. But I thought that it was a bit unnecessary, maybe he has his own campaign strategy and so that is the only part that I was a bit surprised about.”
“You are not going to run a campaign on you, Alan Kyeremateng. You are going to campaign on the record of the NPP government for the past six to seven years. I’m sure people are going to ask him to give examples of what has not been done right. If he disagreed vehemently with what had not been done right what prevented him from resigning? If you thought it was so bad that in your first address announcing your desire to contest you are taking the President on, you have not been sentenced by any court to be a minister, he could have just said because of a few things, Mr President I can’t take up your job.”
A pro-NPP youth group in the Upper West Region wants all government appointees and members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) currently holding offices to relinquish their post if they intend to contest the party’s flagbearership race.
The group is urging such persons to follow the steps of the Former Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen and the Minister for Agriculture, Owusu Afriyie Akoto who recently resigned to focus on the NPP race.
Addressing a press conference in Wa, the convener of the group, Ahmed Marzuk said, “we would like to use this medium to urge all current ministers and party members holding other portfolios in government who intend to run for the NPP flagbearer position to follow the example of Alan and resign.”
The Former Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen and Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr, Owusu Afriyie Akoto have quit their ministerial positions to contest the NPP flagbearership race.
Meanwhile, the party has fixed January 31 to announce dates for the primaries.
Other emerging names including Vice President Dr, Mahamudu Bawumia, Kennedy Agyepong, Kwabena Agyepong, Joe Ghartey, are yet to openly announce their interest in the presidential slot of the NPP.
The Former Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, on Tuesday, January 10, 2022, officially announced his intention to contest in the presidential primaries of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Some of the statements he made during the declaration have become topics for discussion among many Ghanaians.
Some Ghanaians, on social media, have commended him for the key strategies under his Great Transformational Plan (GTP) which he said will transform Ghana’s economy between 2025 and 2030.
Others, however, are not so enthused about some of the pronouncements he made and are questioning why he could not attain some of the things he outlined, particularly his promise to operationalize the Komenda Sugar factory since he had been the trade minister for 6 years.
A one-time parliamentary aspirant of the (NPP) for Kpone Katamanso Constituency, Hopeson Adorye, in posts shared on Facebook, described Alan as a transformational leader.
“Fellow Country men and women,” his first post read. The second read: “Transformational leader. #AlanCash.”
“Mr. Alan John Kojo Kyeremanten @AlanKyerematen says he will roll out GTP, the ‘Great Transformational Plan’ for Ghana. That’s an interesting name, GTP, one that will catch on very easily and become the talk of town,” broadcaster, Kafui Dey wrote on Twitter.
“Alan Kyeremanten says there are things he believed could have been done differently in the current administration that he’s exiting. Would be interesting to know what those things are/were,” he added.
Another Twitter user, Uncle Paa Kwesi, said Alan cannot even win a university election with his declaration of intent.
Another Tweep also questioned Alan’s promise to operationalize the Komenda Sugar Factory; saying, “Six years in Office Alan Kyerematen Failed to operationalize Komenda Sugar Factory,” he said.
He added that the IMF initiative would reaffirm investor faith in the economy.
“I have no doubt that the projected International Monetary Fund (IMF) Support Package will restore confidence in our economy and bring it back to the pre-COVID levels,” Alan Kyerematen remarked in a speech on January 10, 2023.
Ghana is targeting $3 billion over a three-year period from the IMF once an agreement on a programme is finalized.
On December 13, 2022, the International Monetary Fund announced that it has reached a staff-level agreement with Ghana on economic policies and reforms to be supported by a new three-year arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) of about US$3 billion.
After his national address on Tuesday night, January 10, 2023, New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer candidate Alan Kyerematen received trolling on Twitter from a known Ghanaian journalist who bases in the United States.
During a nationally broadcast television address on Tuesday, Mr. Alan Kyerematen formally announced his candidacy for president.
He did this after leaving his position as Minister of Trade and Industry in the Akufo-Addo-led administration.
The former ambassador of Ghana to the United States declared in his speech that he would be a transformational leader who would implement a bold plan to make Ghana the shining star of Africa.
“To achieve this strategic goal of transforming our dear country to become the shining star of the new Africa, I will as President, launch and lead the execution of the Great Transformational Plan, GTP, of Ghana which will span the period 2025 to 2030.”
He declared that a brand-new program called “Alan K Prime Time Talk Show” will debut in the upcoming months to provide additional details about this Plan.
“The execution of the GTP will require our collective efforts, irrespective of political orientation, ethnicity or religion,” he stated in the nationwide broadcast.
However, Kevin Taylor, the CEO of Loud Silence TV and the host of the political talk show #WithAllDueRespect, has responded by saying that he doesn’t see any differences between Alan K and the leader he wants to replace.
The outspoken journalist wrote in a tweet that the former Trade Minister is just a “tall” version of his boss.
“@AlanKyerematen after listening to your speech tonight ebi like you are a tall version of @NAkufoAddo,” he tweeted in pidgin.
A former trade and industry minister, Alan Kyerematen, has formally declared his intention to run as the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) flag bearer.
In an official address to the nation, he said even though he believes Ghana’s economy will be restored following the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Support Package, going back to IMF will be a thing of the past as the country if he is given the nod considering the country has gone for aid for the seventeenth time over the last 57 years.
According to Alan Kyerematen, to ensure economic stability for the country, a new plan ought to be put in place, one he intends to introduce.
Describing this plan as the Great Transformational Plan (GTP) of Ghana, he said it will span the period of 2025 to 2030.
He outlined some of these plans as follows:
A Strong Macroeconomic Environment:
The success of the GTP will depend primarily on strong macroeconomic fundamentals, which will include among other things, a stable currency, low inflation, sustainable debt levels, revenue optimization and tight expenditure control to guarantee fiscal balance, low competitive interest rates, strong external reserves backed by high levels of liquidity to support the financial sector.
To a large extent, the IMF support programme when fully executed, will create the appropriate conditions that will underpin the Great Transformational Plan.
New Agricultural Revolution (NAR) for Ghana:
The NAR will be based on five critical elements.
i. Introducing Technology and Innovation into Agriculture, through Research & Development (R&D) in Agronomy, Mechanization, Irrigation, and Plantation Management. This will build on the foundation laid by the Planting for Food and Jobs and Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD) Programmes. Our farmers cannot be competitive without technology and innovation.
ii. The establishment of Licensed Food Distribution and Marketing companies by the Private Sector throughout the country at the district level, to be supported by the Government. These companies will constitute a vital link between farmers and Market Queens in the urban and peri-urban areas. It will be complemented by the introduction of a digitalized food distribution and marketing online platform which will connect producers to buyers and consumers.
iii. The strengthening of the Ghana Commodity Exchange as the marketplace for all actors in the Agricultural value chain.
iv. Deepening the current regime for lending and financing for the agricultural sector.
v. Enhancing the de-regulation of the Cocoa sector by deepening private sector participation in the buying and marketing (including export) of Cocoa.
vi. Mass Citizens participation in Agriculture by introducing an ‘Operation Own a Farm’ programme for the Ghanaian citizenry in general.
Industrial Transformation:
This will build on the successes of Government’s Ten Point Industrial Transformation Programme including the One District One Factory (1D1F) initiative; the establishment of Strategic Anchor Industries to diversify the economy beyond Cocoa and Gold e.g the Automobile assembly, Garment and Textiles, Pharmaceuticals and the Petrochemical industry; enhancing the growth and development of Small and Medium Enterprises; establishment of Industrial Parks and Special Economic Zones; and supporting Domestic Retail Trade and Distribution.
Accelerated Infrastructure Development : Promoting Private sector financing for public infrastructure such as Roads, Railways, Ports and Harbours, Water Supply Systems, Public Housing etc, which will reduce Government’s exposure to the financing of such infrastructure projects.
• Digital Mainstreaming: Digitalization will be mainstreamed in all Government and Public sector activities, building on the current work led by the Ministry of Communication and Digitalization.
• Energy Security and Diversification: Greater emphasis to be placed on developing renewable sources of energy, by fast-tracking the execution of Government’s energy transition strategy, including but not limited to nuclear and hydrogen energy.
• Decarbonization and Climate Resilience: Scaling up Government’s current efforts at reducing Ghana’s carbon footprints and facilitating access to the carbon trading markets, as well as establishing mechanisms to strengthen the country’s preparedness against the negative effects of climate change.
• National Security and Defence Optimization: Deploying resources to strengthen National Security and Defence Mechanisms and Infrastructure, to deal substantively with emerging security threats and challenges, particularly in the Sahalian region.
• Downsizing Government: The architecture of Government will be overhauled by consolidating some existing Ministries, Departments and Agencies. This will mean running a lean Government structure that will ensure operational efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of Government services.
Strategic Engagement with the International Community:
Ghana’s diplomatic and economic relations with the International Community under the GTP will be predicated on the principle of ‘positive neutrality’, based on the strategic interests of Ghana, as well as our shared commitments for the preservation of peace around the world and respect for humanity.
The former Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, has cautioned leaders against abusing the power they hold over their followers.
According to him, being given the responsibility to serve people is an opportunity for one to render services and not lord over their subordinates.
Addressing the nation on January 10, 2023, days after resigning from the government, he emphasized the need for humility in leadership and argued that being humble as a leader becomes an asset and not a weakness.
“Corruption and petty theft or thievery, particularly from the public purse, deny our country the benefit of utilizing its tax revenue and other resources for the development of our country.
“The arrogance of power has been a major obstruction to progress in our country. People in positions of authority must understand that leadership is an opportunity to serve the people, and not to lord over them. In servant leadership, humility is an asset and not a weakness,” he said.
Meanwhile, Alan Kyerematen has officially declared his intention to contest in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential primaries when nominations open.
Speaking in a press conference on January 10, 2023, he said “I wish to use this platform to formally announce my decision to contest the flagbearership of the New Patriotic Party when the party officially opens nominations for that purpose.”
