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The Chairman of Groupe Nduom, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, has paid a courtesy call on former President John Agyekum Kufuor.
The visit on Friday 14th July 2022 was to inform the former President about what he has been doing in the past three years, why he has been absent from Ghana including during the 2020 elections and his plans going forward.
The reasons he discussed with Mr Agyekum Kufour included health and business challenges.
He told the former President he had been paying particular attention to his business operations in the USA particularly the bank, especially given the reputational damage caused by the loss of the Ghana banking license and the accusations made about illegal money transfers.
He was however hopeful that the allegations would be proven false through the courts and administrative processes.
Former President Kufuor is well acquainted with Dr Nduom’s family so they had a good discussion about his family and how his children are doing.
The relationship between the two has been a cordial one as evidenced by the great enthusiasm with which the former President received Dr Nduom.
It would be recalled that after the 2000 elections, President Kufuor appointed an inclusive administration which included CPP, PNC and independents. Dr Nduom had contested the election then to become the MP for Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) on the ticket of the CPP.
Dr Nduom was initially appointed Minister for Economic Planning and Regional Cooperation; and also Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC). He worked very closely with the former President to fashion the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) and get it through Cabinet. It is this GPRS which was used to help qualify Ghana for HIPC benefits with Mr Yaw Osafo Maafo as the Minister of Finance.
He was appointed Energy Minister at the height of Ghana’s search for oil. President Kufuor during his second term of office appointed Dr Nduom as Minister for Public Sector Reform.
This led to a number of reform initiatives including pension and salary administration (introduction of single spine) and others.
President Kufuor and Dr Nduom travelled together to a number of international assignments in the UK, France, Spain, USA and a number of African countries.
Perhaps a defining moment in their relationship was the appointment of Dr Nduom to lead a stalled Millennium Development Challenge project which led to the USA giving Ghana a $547 million grant for a number of projects including the construction of the N1 Highway (Tetteh Quarshie to Mallam).
Dr Nduom presented the former President with an enlarged and framed front page of the Today Newspaper which featured photographs taken at the State Department in the USA when the MCA compact was signed between Ghana and the USA.
He expressed his gratitude for the MCA assignment and the support the former President gave during the process. As a sign of accountability, Dr Nduom promised to help prepare a presentation on what the $547 million compact has accomplished in Ghana.
The former President wished him well and prayed that all will be well for him to return to Ghana to play a meaningful role in the development and job creation.
