Kufuor governed 'very well' – Jonah

Mr John Agyekum Kufuor performed "very well" in office as president, a fellow with governance think tank Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) has said.

Mr Kwesi Jonah's assessment of Mr Kufuor's presidency is in connection with a recent article in the Forbes Magazine which said the former Ghanaian president missed out on the Mo Ibrahim 'Achievement in African Leadership' award because his government was fraught with corruption.

"The political climate in Ghana has lately been plagued by corruption and uncertainty. The Mo Ibrahim award for 'Achievement in African Leadership' rewards good governance with 5 million USD paid over ten years to support government programmes. The award was not issued in 2009 or 2010, despite Kufuor being widely considered a frontrunner.

"This snub was seen by Ghanaian news sources as criticism of corruption in several of Ghana’s recent administrations, as well as a reaction to allegations of a flourishing cocaine trade in Ghana," the article said.

However, Mr Jonah said Mr Kufuor "did his very best and I think he really deserved it, if he didn’t get, he himself has taken it easy."

"He governed very well. He missed the prize. That is no reason for fears that things could go wrong in Ghana," he said.

Mr Jonah nonetheless admitted that political corruption in Ghana is "high".

"No doubt about it," he told Nii Arday Clegg on Starr FM Monday. "The corruption perception index has clearly indicated that all is not well with political corruption," the political analyst said, adding: "Speak to any donor agency official in Ghana, they are very worried about high levels of political corruption."

He also expressed fears that events leading up to next year's elections could spark violence. "The Talensi by-election demonstrated that violence in elections is very real," he said, adding that violent incidents recorded in the recent primaries that were conducted by the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) give cause for worry. "We should fear. There should be cause for concern, and let us manage our economy so well that we don't fall into the same pit that we fell in 2012," he warned.