Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has criticized the practice of personalizing development projects, urging Ghanaian leaders to prioritize national unity over self-aggrandizement.
In an interview on GHOne TV, the former President highlighted several projects undertaken during his administration as examples of initiatives that were not personalized.
He condemned the tendency of governments to claim sole credit for achievements and paint their predecessors in a negative light.
“Everyone wants to act like, if it wasn’t for us, these things couldn’t be done,” Mr. Kufuor observed.
He used the University for Development Studies (UDS) as a case study, acknowledging that although former President Jerry Rawlings initiated the project, his own government completed significant infrastructural work, including hostels in Tamale and campuses in Navrongo and Wa, without claiming sole credit.
“Tamale hostels for UDS were built by my government; Navrongo and Wa campuses were built by my government. No one can say that because these were done by Kufuor, therefore, UDS was built by Kufuor. No! We shouldn’t do it that way,” Kufuor emphasized.
Kufuor, who served as Ghana’s president from 2001 to 2008, introduced several landmark social intervention programs, such as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and Free Basic Education. He expressed frustration with the tendency of successive governments to either neglect previous administrations’ projects or claim undue credit.
“I don’t understand why it has to be like, ‘I’ve done this, I’ve done that.’ It shouldn’t be so,” Kufuor stated.
According to him, new governments always boycott previous governments’ projects or take credit for them, which is hindering Ghana’s progress.
Kufuor’s address serves as a call for a more collaborative and less partisan approach to national development, urging future leaders to prioritize the collective good over political point-scoring.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/John Bodza
