Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor
Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor has received an accolade from former Auditor-General, Daniel Kwame Domelevor, who described him as an “exceptional person.”
In his words, the former Auditor-General presents the former Defence Minister and Board Chair of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) as “one of the strange public servants Ghana has ever had.”
He was speaking on a programme on Onua TV a few days ago during which he went on to state that the former Defence Minister’s kind is difficult to find in the country as far as public service is concerned.
The former Auditor General’s position was premised on, according to him, “whilst many public servants were running away from audit, Dr. Addo-Kufuor was rather pushing to be audited before taking his exit as Board Chair of SSNIT.”
During the programme dubbed Maakye on Monday, April 1, 2024, Mr. Domelevo said he did not believe it when Dr. Addo-Kufuor requested to be audited until as he put it “made a follow-up” on the request.
The host of the programme, Captain Smart, listened as the former Auditor-General narrated the genesis of the story, the request for which audit was eventually undertaken before Dr. Addo-Kufuor left his appointment as Chair of SSNIT.
“That man is an exceptional man. He is a different calibre of public servant. He extended his hand to me and said I want my period to be audited before I leave. And I was like ‘whilst people don’t want to be audited you want to be audited?’ He is one of the strange public servants I’ve come across.
“I don’t remember the details but we met at a certain function and he said it and I thought he was joking. Then he followed up that I want you to audit my period before I exit office so that if there are issues that I have to answer then I answer them now instead of later on. And I must say that he is one of the people whom I found very exceptional for him to be bold enough to say that ‘police, come and search my house and let me know in case you find anything’. It is something to be commended. I have a lot of respect for him,” he praised Dr. Addo-Kufuor.
As Defence Minister under his brother President John Agyekum Kufuor, he left indelible mark in the annals of the Defence Ministry. The construction of residential accommodation for soldiers, and the upgrading of the 37 Military Hospital were some of the marks he left behind.
He used his contacts with the Indian government to have the Jubilee House built as it stands today.
The physician was for many years the Member of Parliament (MP) for Manhyia Constituency, in the Ashanti Region.
Before taking charge of SSNIT as Board Chair, he held the position of Interior Minister between June 2008 and 2009.
His chairmanship of SSNIT saw him being adjudged the ‘Outstanding Board Chairman of the Year 2019’ during the 10th Ghana Entrepreneur and Corporate Executive Awards in 2020.
A write-up on his feats by the television station stated this about the former Defence Minister and physician. “Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor is said to have personally exchanged gifts he was to be given by the Chinese government for the current Ministry of Defence building after embarking on an official trip with a Ghanaian delegation to the giant of Asia. After asking to get him a house and some vehicles, Dr. Addo-Kufuor is said to have objected and requested that the old Defence Ministry building be pulled down and rebuilt.
“The Chinese government, after approving his request, put up the structure and gave it out as Addo-Kufuor’s gift to Ghana. He also laid the foundation for the building of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Centre, a brainchild of former President Rawlings which was started by the German government. He is currently the Chancellor of the Kumasi Technical University.”
By A.R. Gomda