By James Kumi-Korsah
In a recent discussion on X, hosted by social media influencer, KALYJAY, which attracted over 16,000 participants, former Trade and Industry Minister and presidential candidate for the rapidly-growing Afrafranto Movement, Alan Kyerematen, firmly refuted claims made by former Majority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, in a recent interview.
Responding to a participant’s question regarding the remarks made by Mensah Bonsu, Mr. Kyerematen denied any responsibility for the struggling economy under the Nana Addo-Bawumia government.
Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, in his bid to insulate the Vice President from accusations of economic mismanagement, alleged that the Cabinet Economic Committee, a subcommittee chaired by Mr. Kyerematen, held more influence than the Vice President’s Economic Management Team (EMT) and should therefore be held responsible for the nation’s economic challenges. Alan Kyerematen categorically dismissed this assertion as laughable and malicious disinformation.
During the interaction, Alan Kyerematen compared the operations of the Cabinet to corporate governance structures, emphasizing that subcommittees within the Cabinet, such as the Economic Committee, are powerless and do not make decisions. Instead, they prepare documents and proposals for Cabinet meetings, where decisions are made collectively.
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He referenced two main principles in corporate governance – collective responsibility and individual accountability, stating that he cannot be held accountable for the failure of the Finance Minister or any other member of the government to perform their duties effectively. According to him, he discharged his duties creditably and effectively as Trade and Industry Minister and mentioned some of his notable achievements.
Alan Kyerematen questioned the logic behind the claim that a ministerial subcommittee could be more powerful than the EMT, which is led by the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia. He further revealed that he and his supporters were marginalized within the government, making it implausible that he could have wielded more power than the Vice President in managing the economy.
Alan Kyerematen also challenged Dr. Bawumia to come clean about his role in the management of the economy, particularly regarding whether President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had indeed entrusted him with full control.
This was not the first time Alan Kyerematen had called on the Vice President to clarify his responsibilities and acknowledge the authority he had been given. Alan Kyerematen expressed his perplexity over why Bawumia, an economist by training, had not taken full responsibility for the economy’s performance as the head of the EMT.
In support of Alan Kyerematen’s argument that it was impossible for him to have had more power than the Vice President, it is worth noting a past statement made by Senior Presidential Advisor Yaw Osafo Maafo. During a media engagement some time ago, Osafo Maafo had singled out Dr. Bawumia for praise, attributing the economy’s previous successes to his leadership of the EMT.
This raises questions about why, now that the economy is struggling, blame is being shifted away from Bawumia, who had previously been credited for its successes.
Additionally, there is a notable disparity in government support for two key initiatives—the One District, One Factory (1D1F) policy and the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO). Alan Kyerematen’s 1D1F initiative, which created 170,000 permanent jobs, received only GHC 400 million in funding, while Bawumia’s NABCO, which created only 100,000 temporary jobs, was allocated close to GHC 4 billion. Currently NABCO trainees are up in arms with the government over their 8-month unpaid allowances.
If the allocation of resources between the two policies doesn’t clearly indicate which of the two men wielded more power in managing the economy, what else would? This discrepancy underscores the differences in impact and vision between the two leaders, both of whom are economists.
It is also noteworthy that the Vice President, Dr. Bawumia, was consistently present alongside the former Finance Minister during budget presentations from 2017 to 2019, when the economy was performing well under the IMF program. However, he notably stopped accompanying the Minister as the economy began to decline.
Ironically, in 2021, when Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta was unavailable on health grounds, it was initially suggested that Alan Kyerematen would present the budget. However, due to internal politics, that decision was reversed at the last minute, and Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, who is now alleging that Alan Kyerematen’s subcommittee was more powerful than Dr. Bawumia’s EMT, presented the budget instead. This further underscores Alan Kyerematen’s limited influence in respect of the management of the Nana Addo-Bawumia economy.
