Amissah Arthur To Excel

Vetting Of Veep Nominee…

Whiles comparisons are made between the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) Vice Presidential nominee, Mr. Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur and the running mate of the opposition New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as which of them being pure technocrats, the advantage Mr. Amissah Arthur has is his political acumen.

Dr. Bawumia, did not belong to any political party before his nomination in 2008 to partner Mr. Williams Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

In fact, in Dr. Arthur Kennedy’s “Chasing the elephant into the bush”, former President John Agyekum Kufuor had to cut off Dr. Konadu Apreko, who tried to create the impression that Dr. Bawumia was a card-bearing member of the NPP.

Ex-President Kufuor was brunt and straightforward to the point that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia did not have an NPP card.

However, Mr. Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, had worked with the military era of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) to the constitutional era of the NDC.

The Informer is sure that by the time Mr. Kwesi Amissah Arthur leaves the vetting room, every Ghanaian who would watch the vetting would be impressed.

Below is his Profile

Vice President-designate Dr Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, was born in Cape Coast in the Central Region on the 29th of April 1951. He had his General Certificate of Education O Level at the Mfantsipim School in Cape Coast from 1964 to 1971.

He proceeded to the University of Ghana, where he was awarded Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science in Economics in 1974 and 1980. He was also a lecturer at the Anambra State College of Education, Awka Anambra State, Nigeria.

Mr. Amissah Arthur's first appointment was at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), where he was a research assistant from 1974 to 1975. He was a PNDC Deputy Secretary for the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and continued to work in the same capacity during the first term of the Rawlings-led NDC Government.

As PNDC Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (February 1986 to March 1993), he was a member of the Economic Management Team that designed and implemented the Economic Recovery Programme.

He had direct responsibility for the preparation of the annual Public Investment Programme, the management of the national budget as well as management of bilateral and multilateral assistance to the country.

After retiring from public office in 1997, Mr. Amissah-Arthur worked on a number of consultancy assignments: As Senior Economist for the Sigma One Corporation, Ghana from 1998 to 2000 he helped design and implement the “Ghana Policy Dialogue Project”, a USAID-funded project that provided advisory services to the Government of Ghana and the “Trade and Investment Reform Project”, which aimed to enhance Ghana’s export competitiveness.

In 2001 and 2002, he was hired on an assignment on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. He was co-author of a review of Ghana’s public financial management system, titled: “Guidance Note: Financial Integration into Relevant Ghanaian Structures” a report which has been used as a training manual for new employees into the Finance Ministry.

He was among the team of technocrats who managed Ghana’s structural adjustment programme since 1980 that helped in reviving the collapsing Ghanaian economy.

His hard work and achievement was realized by the late president Mills, hence his appointment as Governor of the Bank of Ghana on the 1st of October 2009 to replace Dr Paul Acquah who served eight years as Governor.

Prior to his appointment as Governor of Ghana’s Central Bank, he worked as a private consultant/economist.

As Consultant for the World Bank, he trained the staff of The Department of State for Agriculture, Republic of The Gambia in 1997 in initiating a review of the World Bank-funded Medium-term Expenditure Programme.

He was the consultant at all stages of the Netherlands’ Government- funded Technical/Vocational Education project for Ghana’s Ministry of Education in association with TNW Export BV of Waalwijk, Netherlands).

Mr. Amissah-Arthur has served on a number of Boards and Committees including the Boards of the Bank of Ghana, Ghana Commercial Bank, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, Ghana National Procurement Agency, Ghana Supply Commission, and the Academic Board and Finance Committee of the University of Ghana.

The Vice President nominee is married with two children.