Alan Kyerematen is the best to lead NPP- Declares C/Region youth

A GROUP of New Patriotic Party (NPP) activists calling themselves “Central Youth” has claimed that former Trade, Industry and Presidential Special Initiative Minister, Mr. Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, is the best person to lead the NPP in their quest to retain power in 2008 general elections.

At a press conference held in Cape Coast to send their message across, the spokesperson for the group, George Mireku Duker, said Kyerematen was the most marketable aspirant among the NPP presidential hopefuls and that he had the capacity to build on the stable foundation laid down by President John Agyekum Kufuor.

Mr. Duker contended that Alan Kyerematen has the qualities to propel Ghana to could make Ghana best business centre in Africa.

He cited Times Magazine rating in 1994 of Alan Kyeremanten among top 100 business leaders in the world alongside personalities like Bill Gates of Microsoft fame and John Kennedy Junior.

“He is the only Ghanaian to address the New York Stock Exchange,” Duker added.

According to Mr. Duker, Kyerematen has gained experience in both private and public sectors and that he founded Empretec and nurtured it to become and African Regional Institution financed by the United Nations.

He said Empretec has since produced the current crop of business magnates and entrepreneurs in Africa, therefore, he was capable of managing the country.

Mr. Duker said through his initiative, over-reliance on traditional exports like cocoa, gold and timber has been reduced by adding new non-traditional export products like garments, salt and oil palm that have strengthened foreign earning in Ghana.

According to him, the Trade Ministry under the leadership of Kyerematen, export earnings increased from US$1.6billion in 2002 to US$3.4billion in 2006 for traditional exports while non-traditional exports shot up from US$400 million to US$897 million during the same period.

Mr. Duker said the NPP youth in the Central Region believe that Alan Kyeremanten hailed from the Region specifically Elmina, and attended Adisadel College in Cape Coast, therefore, the youth in the Region were likely rally behind him in the 2008 general elections.

On his exoneration by the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) on corruption charges filed against him, he said, this was a boost to his campaign for the presidential slot of NPP.

But, Mr. Duker could not answer a question posed by one journalist as to whether some youth in from Elmina, where he claimed Mr. Kyerematen hailed from, attended the press conference.

He concluded his speech by saying, “JAK GO, JAKK comes,” explaining that President Kufuor's exit must give way to Alan John Kwadwo Kyeremanten (JAKK) to rule the country.