If Ghanaians had listened to me, we wouldn’t have gone to the IMF – Alan Kyerematen

Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, a former minister of trade and industry, claims that if his suggestions had been taken into consideration earlier, Ghana’s readmission to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may have been prevented.

The flagbearer candidate of the ruling New Patriotic Party emphasized the President’s Special Initiatives (PSI) initiated during the John Agyekum Kufuor period as a possible game-changer if fully implemented during his Greater Accra Delegates tour in the Ablekuma constituency.

Mr. Kyerematen voiced his regret in his remarks, saying, “The amount of work I have done for this country, sometimes I even feel ashamed talking about it. In President Kufuor’s era, I was one of the senior ministers, and I introduced PSI (The President’s Special Initiatives). If Ghanaians had listened to me, today Ghana wouldn’t have gone to the IMF.”

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor envisioned the President’s Special Initiatives as a way to promote a “Golden Age of Business” through public-private partnerships, job creation, and economic expansion. By building new pillars of growth, the NPP government sought to shift Ghana’s economy out of the category of Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and lessen dependency on aid and commodity exports.

Former Ghanaian Ambassador to the United States and Minister of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development (PSD), and Presidential Special Initiatives (PSI), Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen recently resigned from his ministerial position to pursue his presidential ambition.

The 68-year-old Kyerematen previously ran for president of the NPP in 2007, 2010, and 2014, but lost to then-President Nana Akufo-Addo on each occasion. Kyerematen and Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia are anticipated to face off in the forthcoming NPP presidential primaries, which are planned for November of this year.

In addition to working as a trade advisor for the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, where he oversaw the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC), Alan Kyerematen brings a lot of experience to his campaign.

The NPP’s internal elections are essential since they will choose the party’s nominee for the upcoming general elections. This race is between Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and Alan Kyerematen, two important party figures.

Source: Ghanatodayonline.com