NPP flagbearer vetting: The economic whiz-kid vs. the industrialisation expert

GhanaWeb Business Feature

Ahead of the 2024 general election, the New Patriotic Party is mandated to undertake a vetting of aspirants seeking to contest the flagbearership of the party.

It is no secret that the race which was at first touted as a two-horse race by many, has now been enlarged by other members of the party who believe they are also fit to be given the nod to lead the party.

While the country waits to see which of the candidates will be given the nod, some notable names in the race are the current Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, and Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, a former trade minister under the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo administration.

Ahead of the vetting slated to take place on July 3, 2023, GhanaWeb Business zooms in on some of the credentials of the two candidates facing the vetting committee of the governing party.

Dr Bawumia – Economic ‘Whiz Kid’/Dr Digital

After assuming office in 2017, the current Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has been touted as the lead for championing the digital agenda of the New Patriotic Party and its government machinery.

He is credited for the introduction of the Ghana Card, Paperless Ports System, Gold-For-Oil policy, among many other government policies aimed at boosting digital economy and inclusion efforts.

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, whose wife [Second Lady Samira Bawumia] has labelled him as an economic ‘whiz kid’, is a key figure in Ghana’s economic management. The astute economist serves as the Head of the Economic Management Team under the current Akufo-Addo administration.

The NPP flagbearer position has, however, come under scrutiny due to the wave of economic challenges faced in the country. There has also been the issue of whether the very visible vice president actually takes charge of the EMT meetings.

Prior to his political journey, he was, and still remains an economist and a former banker with vast experience, having worked at the International Monetary Fund, the Bank of Ghana, among others.

Dr Bawumia attended the Sakasaka Primary School in Tamale and gained admission to the Tamale Secondary School in 1975.

After graduating from the Tamale Secondary School, he went to the United Kingdom where he studied banking and obtained the Chartered Institute of Bankers Diploma (ACIB).

He earned himself a First-Class Honours Degree in Economics at Buckingham University in 1987 and later obtained a Masters Degree in Economics at Lincoln College, Oxford.

Years on, Dr Bawumia earned a Ph.D. in Economics at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1995.

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is known for championing the governing NPP’s digitisation agenda. He also specializes in macroeconomics, international economics, development economics, and monetary policy.

Alan Kyerematen - The industrialisation expert/‘Cash man’

The name Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen is not new in the race for Ghana’s presidency. Prior to Akufo-Addo assuming office, Alan Kyerematen also known as 'Alan Cash' was said to be the prime choice of the party at the time but the position was won by President Akufo-Addo.

Between 2003 and 2007, under former president John Agyekum Kufuor's era, Alan Kyeremanten served as Minister of Trade.

He is credited for having an extensive and distinguished record in international trade and public policy, enterprise development, politics and diplomacy. Prior to venturing into politics, Alan served as a former Ambassador to the US, UN Policy Advisor, a lawyer and a Senior Corporate Executive.

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.

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. In addition, he was a Hubert Humphrey Fellow at the School of Public Affairs and the School of Management of the University of Minnesota, under the US Fulbright Fellowship Programme.

He served as Member of the Council of Governors of the British Executive Service Overseas (BESO) in the United Kingdom and has also served as a Board member of several other organizations in Ghana.

In 2013, he was nominated by the Heads of States of the African Union to contest as Africa’s candidate for the position of Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Alan Kyerematen was born October 3, 1955 in Kumasi and married to Patricia Christabel Kyerematen.

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