Former President Jerry John Rawlings has paid a glowing tribute to the departed former Vice President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, describing him as an unsung hero and a true son of Ghana.
In a tribute, former President Rawlings said Mr. Amissah-Arthur was not a personality to be regarded lightly after he bailed the PNDC government out of a difficult situation when he was just the acting Minister.
The 67-year-old former Governor of the Bank of Ghana died on 29 June after collapsing during a workout session at the Airforce Gym.
He will be buried today, Friday, 27 July 2018 at the Military Cemetery, Accra after his remains was laid in state at the foyer of the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) on Thursday, July 26, where former ministers of state politicians and a government delegation led by Senior Minister Yaw Osafo Marfo, filed to pay their last respects.
Below is Mr Rawlings’ tribute
FARE THEE WELL, PAA KWESI AMISSAH ARTHUR
Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur worked with both the governments of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) during my tenure.
As an economist and academic I knew Paa Kwesi as a true professional who exercised his duties with dignity and a good sense of humility.
Typical of many professionals cast in his mould, he let his work speak for itself. He was not one who preferred to stay in the public eye but his association with politics did not allow that.
Nevertheless, Paa Kwesi’s calm disposition hid a confident interior that I believe earned him his role in our governments and allowed him to rise in other roles outside government.
During a trying period in the PNDC days, our former Deputy Minister of Finance bailed us out of a difficult troop situation in his capacity as Acting Minister. That was when I recognized that he was no personality to be regarded lightly.
As a partner in the trenches of the PNDC and early NDC days we had our challenges too and he took them in his stride even if there were some discomforting encounters.
His candour could be disarming sometimes and he had a good grasp of the history of the PNDC and NDC days. I remember that once not too long ago he countered a misrepresentation during a tribute session for Louis Casely Hayford in church, correcting some historical facts concerning the PNDC to my pleasant surprise and that of many who were gathered at the service.
Despite the complex challenges he encountered as Vice-President, he nevertheless was a man whose demeanour won him deserving respect and admiration.
Paa Kwesi may have been an unsung hero, but he paid his full dues to Ghana with love and commitment. His demise during a gym workout came as a shock but the ways of the Good Lord are not for us to question.
Fare thee well Paa Kwesi. You were a true son of Ghana.
