Movement for Change, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, has revealed his long-standing commitment to economic transformation.
According to him, his passion for economic reform dates back to his undergraduate studies at the University of Ghana, where his dissertation focused on "How to Change the Structure of the Ghanaian Economy".
“I have been talking about transformation for so long. During Kufuor’s time, I was talking about transformation.
“Even at the undergraduate school level at the University of Ghana, the Faculty of Economics… this was from 1973 to 1976, even at that time I was talking about transformation. It was recently that I was thinking about it, and I realized that if this has been your mindset from school it means you are genuine about it,” he said.
During the interview on JoyNews’ JN Today, Mr Kyerematen highlighted the crucial roles he played while serving as Trades Minister under the administrations of former President John Agyekum Kufuor and President Akufo-Addo.
He touted himself as the lead architect of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), noting that “it was the transformation of Africa by bringing Africa together in one common market.”
“Even in Ghana, under former President Kufuor when I talked about the Presidential Special Initiatives, it was about transformation. One District, One Factory under President Akufo-Addo, when I introduced that, it was about transformation. When I started talking about vehicle assembly and component manufacturing in Ghana, it was about transformation,” he told host, Aisha Ibrahim.
Defining transformation as "significant or substantial change," Mr Kyerematen stressed the importance of achieving substantial economic growth to ensure stability.
“The reason why Ghana is not moving forward is that, even when we grow, our growth is not significant enough for it to result in transformation and that is why when there are shocks, either domestic or external, it undermines the stability of our economy because the economy is not transformed.”
Credit: Ama Cromwell