The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has recandled the debate on former President John Kufour achievements as the president of the Republic describing his era as the best in Ghana’s recent history.
In a statement signed by the party’s General Secretary on the occasions of the 80th birthday celebration, Mr. John Boadu said
John Kufour’s era as President of the Republic has rightly been described by many political watchers as the best period in Ghana’s recent history. He took over a highly indebted poor country with shuttered fundamentals from the then Rawlings-led NDC government and was able to competently overturn the country’s fortunes from HIPC status to one of Middle Income country in his 8 year rule. Within this short period, he more than quadrupled the nation’s GDP and growth rate, drastically reduced inflation and interest rates, achieved significant exchange rate stability and ultimately put this country on the path of economic transformation and prosperity with every economic index pointing to a positive direction.
Mr. Boadu has said the NDC has however “completely watered down” Mr. Kufour’s economic gain to the entend that the country has to run to the IMF for a bailout.
It is regrettable that following the defeat of the NPP in the 2008 elections and the assumption of the NDC, most of these economic gains chalked by the Kufour government were completely watered down and eventually the country had to go back to the very IMF that President Kufour took us out, for “Policy Credibility”, in the words of the then President, His Excellency John Mahama. Interestingly, it is taking another NPP government, under President Akufo-Addo, to salvage this country from their economic mess and take us out of the IMF and their conditions, which are often times counterproductive.”
Read the full statement:
December 8, 2018
Press Release
NPP CELEBRATES FORMER PRESIDENT JOHN AGYEKUM KUFUOR ON HIS 80th BIRTHDAY
The NPP is pleased, on this special day, to join the rest of the world to CELEBRATE one of Ghana’s all-time finest, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufour, the former President of the Republic, on the occasion of his 80th birthday. It is said without doubt that the history of the 4th Republic cannot be told without the countless mention of the name, John Agyekum Kufour, which name largely personifies our success story. He made possible the seemingly impossible and gave Ghanaians more than enough reasons to have confidence in the nation’s political leadership.
John Kufour’s era as President of the Republic has rightly been described by many political watchers as the best period in Ghana’s recent history. He took over a highly indebted poor country with shuttered fundamentals from the then Rawlings-led NDC government and was able to competently overturn the country’s fortunes from HIPC status to one of Middle Income country in his 8 year rule. Within this short period, he more than quadrupled the nation’s GDP and growth rate, drastically reduced inflation and interest rates, achieved significant exchange rate stability and ultimately put this country on the path of economic transformation and prosperity with every economic index pointing to a positive direction.
It is regrettable that following the defeat of the NPP in the 2008 elections and the assumption of the NDC, most of these economic gains chalked by the Kufour government were completely watered down and eventually the country had to go back to the very IMF that President Kufour took us out, for “Policy Credibility”, in the words of the then President, His Excellency John Mahama. Interestingly, it is taking another NPP government, under President Akufo-Addo, to salvage this country from their economic mess and take us out of the IMF and their conditions, which are often times counterproductive.
President Kufuor’s stupendous achievements were not only evident in the field of economics but also in the provision of essential social services. His name has become almost synonymous with social intervention policies following the very many social intervention policies he introduced during his 8-year rule to the extent that has never been witnessed in the country’s history. Today, when you mention Kufour what comes to mind is NHIS, School Feeding Programme, the LEAP system, Free Maternal Care, Capitation Grant, Metro Mass Transport, Youth Employment Programmes, and Cocoa Mass Spraying among other social interventions he successfully introduced and sustained.
This in spite of the ideological underpinning of the NPP as a centre-right political party that believes in private enterprise, capitalism and for that matter property owning democracy. President Kufour thus, went beyond his philosophical comfort zone to teach even the so called social democrats the real meaning of social intervention policies and how a government can introduce and sustain same in order ameliorate the suffering of the masses.
His efforts particularly in Agriculture, as you would recall, received international recognition when in 2011, he, together with the former President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula Da Sila, were awarded co-recipients of the famous Wold Food Prize by the UN World Food Program “for dramatically reducing hunger in their respective countries”. That is the man we are celebrating today. His discovery of oil in commercial quantity for this country, which all previous governments from the days of President Nkrumah had tried and failed, sums up how much a blessing President Kufour has been to this country. No wonder he continues to receive meritorious awards from across the world even after exiting power some 10 years ago.
Once again, the party takes cognisance of his latest international recognition as the recipient of the first ever Wilberforce World Freedom Medal at the University of Hull in the UK for “putting Ghana on the world map and raising the profile of the country as the citadel of democracy, good governance and for that matter a key player in the United Nations”. With this and more, one would understand why President Kufour is being described as the most successful living legend of the Danquah-Dombo-Busia political tradition.
The NPP, as always, remains extremely proud of the achievements of this revered statesman and extraordinary Ghanaian whose indelible contributions to the socio-economic development of this country cannot be overemphasized. Certainly, Ghana cannot honour and celebrate former President Kufour enough. No amount of words can aptly describe his legendary achievements and sacrifices for our collective good.
Your Excellency Mr. former President, as you climax your 80th birthday, the NPP continues to wish you good health and long life. May you continue to mentor and guide us to the promise land with your repertoire of experience. And as you have always maintained, may your wish, of NPP government’s continuous stay in office come to fruition to the glory of God so that this country can move to the next level in her development pursuit.
HAPPY 80th BIRTHDAY Your Excellency JOHN AGYEKUM KUFOUR. Stay blessed!!
…Signed…
John Boadu
General Secretary