Alan Was Useful to Kuffour and Nana Addo, but ...

Both NPP's presidents in the 4th republic, John Agyekum Kuffour and Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, made use of Kwadwo Alan Kyeremanten for their separate visions to achieve the good results. Former President Kuffour had the vision to industrialize Ghana through the Presidential Special Initiative (PSI), and Alan was the Minister for Trade and Industry to help achieve that. The current president, Akufo-Addo, became president many years after Kuffour with his own vision to industrialize Ghana through the One-District-One-Factory (1D1F) project, among others. In this, too, President Akufo-Addo made Alan the Minister of Trade and Industry to achieve it. Alan Kyerematen is the immediate past Minister of Trade and Industry of Ghana from 2017 to 2023 and served in the same capacity between 2003 and 2007.

Alan might have been the brainchild of PSI and 1D1F, as captured in the NPP manifestos in the years 2000 and 2016. The question is, how many experts who contributed to the manifestos had the golden opportunity to be a minister or to implement their ideas in other capacity?

Alan was indeed given the golden opportunity to implement a great transformational project and to shine. Both presidents, Kuffour and Akufo-Addo knew Alan had presidential ambition, and they gave him the platform to write his name in the hearts of Ghanaians, but to me, he failed.

The success story of the PSI and the 1D1F would have been Alan's story and not just the government's or the ruling party's glory. Selling that story chiefly depended on Alan's ministry. Alan failed to tell his story and make a household name in Ghana for himself. He failed to form and charge enthusiastic party youthful communicators to sell his success story. He also failed to invest in the media houses to run his successful PSI and 1D1F stories. He failed to assert himself as an industrial revolutionist through the many new factories his ministry facilitated to establish and the many more existing factories he helped the NPP government to revitalize. Indeed, he failed to build a constituency of party members through job creation.

If Alan had invested in telling his story well, he would have marketed himself well enough to win the rank and file of NPP in the 2023 presidential primaries. Opportunity comes, but once. Alan failed to take chances and consequently blew his presidential chances.

Alan, you blew it. Stop digging the ditch any further because you will land yourself in the abyss. Have an honourable exit from Ghana politics and not a dishonourable one.

Eben Johnson - Finland
(Letters Without Signatures)