As Ghana heads towards another election next year, the attention of many Ghanaians, both at home and abroad, is increasingly turning to the quality of leadership the nation needs in 2009 and beyond. We have now had almost 16 years of uninterrupted multi-party democracy, which is a great achievement that all Ghanaians should be proud of.
The great question facing Ghanaians is the kind of leadership that Ghana should have after President Kufuor leaves office in January 2009. In spite of the great work that President Kufuor has done, we still have monumental challenges that must be overcome. The new president must be a person with a great vision and ideas to propel the country to the next higher level of economic development and to make significant and continuous improvement in the quality of life for the majority of Ghanaians, particularly the poor.
Our dear nation, Ghana at the moment is experiencing its longest history of economic growth and political stability under President Kufuor. We need a smart leader or President with a broad vision and integrity, and a person who can smoothly and effectively move our nation from this transitional point, to a track of sustainable economic growth and political stability for the benefit of all Ghanaians. The need for such a leader is even more important with the recent discovery of oil in Ghana. We need a leader who understands basic economic elements and who would be able to implement sound economic and trade policies to manage our “black gold”.
An emerging economy, such as ours, requires an effective leader with the ideal vision and ideas, and it is paramount for the next president to have the personal traits of honesty, high code of ethics, respect for democratic principles, emotional stability, energetic, and high integrity. The person who meets these criteria is Alan Kyerematen, the former Minister of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and the President’s Special Initiatives (PSI).
Alan has the vision and ideas for Ghana, the dedication and the drive to work energetically to see his ideas become a reality. He is very results-oriented and sees opportunity in every difficult situation and has the conviction that our socio-economic challenges can be adequately overcome. Most importantly he has the initiative and willingness to try something new – think outside the “box” to make significant improvements in the overall quality of life for the people of Ghana.
Let us take a look at Alan the person, his relationship with the NPP, and some of the tangible results from his private-public sector endeavors, all of which demonstrate his exemplary effective leadership skills.
As a person, Alan Kyerematen has the humility, charisma, personal integrity, and temperament to lead the country. Alan believes in leadership as public service to his fellow citizens and that leaders are chosen to serve their people. Over the years, Mr. Kyerematen has demonstrated that he is capable of effectively working with all people, even those with divergent view on issues. Alan believes in the strength of our diversity in working to achieve our collective national goals.
EMPRETEC – Ghana
Alan successfully transformed EMPRETEC from a small UNDP project with a staff of 3 into a viable, independent foundation, which is now an internationally recognized model for sustainable private sector development services in Africa.
Business Development Services to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Alan successfully implemented the 118 million USD Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises project which is to address the perennial problems of inadequate access to finance, poor market information, inadequate infrastructure, obsolete technology and regulatory bottlenecks. The project is already producing results by enhancing access to credit, supporting the development of infrastructure to allow market access and trade facilitation. The project was financed by the two private sector arms of the World Bank Group – International Development Agency (IDA) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC)
Alan Kyerematen is a visionary leader with ideas and the resourcefulness to improve the quality of life for Ghanaians as a whole. His dynamism, integrity, humility, results-oriented nature, and a sense of inclusiveness, will enable ALL Ghanaians to work effectively together to achieve his vision of taking Ghana to a higher economic level. He has had an excellent preparation for the job of the President, his duties as a Minister, Ambassador, a Corporate Executive and a senior official at UNDP, give him the necessary qualifications/skill-sets needed to lead our country in 2009 and beyond. The man is very passionate about Ghana and Africa, is honest, trustworthy, hardworking, eloquent, and likeable and has the charisma to lead our country.
Alan is marketable and winnable. He has a broad-based appeal. Alan’s appeal cuts across gender, ethnic/tribal, social and economic lines. He is well respected and admired by the youth and the old, and is capable of taping the rich experiences of the aged and the enthusiasm of the youth and using them for the development of the country.
• Alan has fresh and innovative ideas to meet the challenges of our time
• He is inclusive, positive, uplifting, visionary and competent
• Alan has the humility, temperament, and the tenacity to lead the country
• He is a results-oriented person with a clear and solid vision for our nation
• He has the integrity and courage to drive an ambitious agenda for the nation
• He will place the nation’s interest first above self interest pursuits
• He has a formidable track record of excellence and accomplishments
• He is passionate about Ghana and Africa
• Alan is an honest, God-fearing person whose interest in politics is to serve his fellow citizens
• He has the international experience, stature and respectability which are some of the requisite characteristics of national leadership in contemporary politics.
• He is intelligent, smart, a team-player, and has an open mind on issues.
• Alan is charismatic and has the personality that inspires others.
The Presidency is ultimately about Vision and Ideas, and Alan’s are encapsulated in his four pillars of success, which are Industrialization, Infrastructural Development, Information & Communication Technology and Tourism. The honorable members of the NPP Electoral College should do the right thing by selecting Alan as our great party’s flag bearer on December 22nd, 2007, to ultimately lead us to victory in 2008.