Duffuor saves GH¢250,000 for state

Ghana’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor has made the tax payer better off, to the tune of several thousands of cedis, as he prefers to be seen as a volunteer par excellence.

In spite of the time and energy the Finance Minister exerts in the effective planning of the economy and controlling the finances of the country, he has refused to be paid any form of salary as a Minister of State and a member of the Atta Mills Cabinet.

He has saved the taxpayer a whooping amount of over GH¢250,000.00 per annum, in salaries and allowances alone, since he assumed office as Finance Minister, considering that a Minister takes home around GH¢5,500.00 per month.

Checks by The Chronicle revealed that a deputy Minister takes home about GH¢4,600.00 a month.

The former Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and a stalwart of the CPP was appointed the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning on February 13, 2009, by President John Evans Atta Mills, but he prefers to serve Mother Ghana without any monetary compensation.

Information gathered by The Chronicle indicates that the retired Governor of the Bank of Ghana takes no allowance, either for serving Ghana as a Minister and Cabinet Minister for that matter.

The about 68-year-old Dr. Duffuor resides in his own private residence at the Airport Residential area, and takes no rent allowance from the government. He uses his own private vehicles which he fuels for official duties.

His interest in serving on the Atta Mills-led administration is to help control expenditure and stabilise the economy, The Chronicle has learnt.

The Finance Minister is cool with the huge sacrifice he is making for Ghana, and would not talk about it, no matter how hard The Chronicle pressed for confirmation and the rationale behind his stance.

Sources at the Accounts section of the Ministry of Finance declined to comment on the Minister's laudable gesture, when The Chronicle called for confirmation or otherwise. The Controller and Accountant-General Department is simply hesitant to discuss the topic.

The Public Relations Officer of MOFEP, known simply as Elsie, could not help this reporter with any information regarding the Minister's sacrifices either.

She said it was a personal issue and the best person to deal with it was the Minister himself, who left the country last Monday for a two weeks official trip.

Until his appointment, the retired Governor of the Bank of Ghana was the Chairman of Star Assurance Company and Unibank Ghana Limited among others.

Dr. Duffuor, an Economist by profession is a native of Kumawu in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. He attended Prempeh College, where he obtained his Ordinary Level and Advanced Level Certificates in 1962 and 1964 respectively.

From 1964 to 1968, he studied at the University of Ghana, graduating with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics.

Between 1973 and 1979 he was at Syracuse University where he was awarded MBA (Finance and Banking) in 1974, MA (Economics) 1975 and his PhD in 1979.

His PhD dissertation was titled “The Impact of the Post 1971 Exchange Rate System on Developing Countries, with Special Reference to Ghana” (Syracuse University, December 1979).

Dr. Duffuor's working experience spans 33 years. He worked first with the Volta River Authority (VRA) from 1968 to 1970, immediately after completing his first degree in Economics.

Thereafter, he worked with the Ghana Commercial Bank and held various positions within the Bank, from 1970 to 1979 as Chief Economist, Head of Research Department, culminating in his appointment as the General Manager of the London Branch of the Bank in 1991.

He also served as an Economist, Africa Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), for a year, from June 1979 to 1980.

In July 1995, he was appointed the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana and then the substantive Governor in July 1997 until 2001.

Dr. Duffuor has served and continues to serve in various capacities as Director or Chairman in eminent institutions such as Star Assurance Company, State Gold Mining Corporation, Unibank Ghana Limited, Shell Ghana limited, Accra Brewery Limited, Ecobank (Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire), Ashanti Goldfields Company and Ghana International Bank PLC London.

He is also a prominent member of various professional bodies including the Advisory Board of the Institute of Social Statistical and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghana, Legon, Economics Society of Ghana, Association of Rural Banks, Ghana, Member of the Board of Governors of the Tweneboa Kodua Secondary School, Kumawu, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, Ghana, among many others.

He taught part time for a while between 1975 and 1991 at the School of Administration (now School of Business) of the University of Ghana, Legon, among others.