Information gathered by DGN Online indicates that the Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen has resigned to focus on his presidential ambition.
Affectionately called “Alan Cash”, Mr. Kyerematen was said to have tendered his resignation letter yesterday Thursday, January 5, 2023 to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
A close source to the minister said he tendered in the resignation to focus on his presidential ambition for the second time having served as Trade Minister from the inception of the Akufo-Addo administration.
He had previously served in the Kufuor administration in the same position making him perhaps the longest serving Trade Minister.
Somewhere in the year 2007, the 67-year-old made an attempt to lead the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as its flagbearer but failed in his bid as he was knocked off by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during the much talked about primaries held by the party at the University of Ghana, Legon campus.
He made other attempts in 2010 and 2014 but failed.
Currently, three party gurus from the NPP are dominating the scene in their urge to become the next president after Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Alan Kyerematen is a former Ambassador to the US, UN Policy Advisor, a lawyer and a Senior Corporate Executive. As Ghana’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Presidential Special Initiatives from 2003 to 2007, he led the design, development and implementation of innovative programmes and special interventions which have become new strategic pillars of growth for the Ghanaian economy.
He also played a key role in shaping Africa’s Trade Policy agenda in the WTO, the EU-ACP Economic Partnership Negotiations, AGOA and UNCTAD.
Prior to his appointment as Minister, Mr. Kyerematen served as Ambassador of Ghana to the United States of America from 2001 to 2003. In that role, he negotiated various landmark trade and investment agreements between Ghana and the United States, and initiated the establishment of the Ghana-United States Economic Council, which played a strategic role in deepening trade relations between the two countries. Between 1998-2001, Alan Kyerematen served as the first Regional Director of ENTERPRISE AFRICA, UNDP’s flagship initiative for the development and promotion of small and medium enterprises in Africa. Under that framework, he established enterprise support programmes in 13 Sub-Saharan Africa countries – Botswana, Benin, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda. Over 4,000 African entrepreneurs and small businesses have benefited from these programmes.
In 1990, Alan Kyerematen was responsible for establishing and managing the EMPRETEC Programme in Ghana, a leading business development institution sponsored by the United Nations and Barclays Bank Limited. He led the transformation of EMPRETEC from a UN project into an independent Foundation, which is recognized as a world-class institution and best practice model for entrepreneurship development in Africa. Between 1984 and 1990, he managed a number of major private and public sector consulting assignments in Ghana, as a Principal Consultant and Head of Public Systems Management with the Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI), a leading management development institution in Ghana. Prior to this, he was a senior corporate executive with UAC Ghana Ltd, a subsidiary of Unilever International, where he worked in various managerial positions with distinction between 1977-1984.
As Coordinator of the African Trade Policy Centre of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa, from July 2011-December 2013, Alan Kyerematen led efforts in building capacity in various African countries in trade policy formulation and trade negotiations. In addition, he was a leading member of the technical team of the African Union that developed the Action Plan for the establishment of a Continental Free Trade Area for Africa.
Alan Kyerematen is a graduate of Economics from the University of Ghana, and is also a qualified Barrister-at-Law from the Ghana Law School.
By Vincent Kubi