Dr. Bawumia addressing some NPP delegates
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has compared himself to a fertile seed that former President John Agyekum Kufuor identified and planted because of its ability to blossom, and nurtured by President Nana Akufo-Addo.
In a public remark on his father-son connection with former President Kufuor, Dr. Bawumia detailed how he was found, given crucial duties throughout Kufuor’s government, and eventually became President Akufo-Addo’s running mate in 2008.
“There was a time that the Financial Times organised a forum on Ghana’s economy during President Kufuor’s era. At that forum, President Kufuor, Osafo-Maafo, Dr. Paul Acquah, myself and other key dignitaries from Ghana attended,” he recounted during a campaign tour in constituencies in the Ashanti Region.
According to him, when the forum was taking place, he noticed that various issues concerning Ghana’s economy were not being addressed, so he requested the opportunity to speak, which was granted.
“When I finished speaking, the whole atmosphere in the room had changed. People had then understood what the economic policy of the Kufuor government was,” he stated.
Dr. Bawumia said while they went for a coffee break, ex-President Kufuor asked for him, and when he went the ‘old man’ said to him, “Young man, you have done well. Keep it up, you will go far.”
“Just the same week after we returned to Ghana President Kufuor appointed me to the board of Ghana telecom,” he revealed.
The Vice President, who has made no secret of the fact that the former President is his political godfather, praised former President Kufuor, who has also openly acknowledged him (Bawumia) as his son on numerous occasions.
The ex-President has repeatedly praised Dr. Bawumia, referring to him as a “true son.”
According to the former President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who served as Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana during his administration, has been a faithful son to him and his course ever since he met him.
Under President Kufuor, Dr. Bawumia served as Co-Chair of the Economic Policy Coordinating Committee and was a key member of the Government’s Technical Negotiations team for HIPC in 2001.
The team negotiated $4 billion in relief for Ghana, assisting former President Kufuor in stabilising the economy.
He was also the Chairman of the Capital Markets Committee, which made Ghana the world’s first post-HIPC country to gain access to international capital markets; and a key member of the team that implemented the cedi redenomination, Ezwich, and the Bank of Ghana’s inflation targeting framework.
Meanwhile, Vice President Bawumia has indicated that the NPP would choose godfathers and godmothers to look after party members in each constituency if he is elected President.
According to him, this will be one of his administration’s policies to support party members throughout the country’s 275 constituencies.
“The Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and ministers in my government would be appointed as godfathers and godmothers for each constituency,” Dr. Bawumia said.
He stated that the godfathers and godmothers would be responsible for resolving the problems and obstacles that the party members in the various constituencies were facing.
The Vice President was speaking to NPP delegates in Kumasi’s Manhyia South Constituency, where he told them that they will be properly served under his presidency.
He also vowed to appoint members of his party evenly from the 275 constituencies to his government if he is elected president in 2024.
By Ernest Kofi Adu & I. F. Joe Awuah