I AM THE BRAINS BEHIND MANY NPP POLICIES- ALAN CLAIMS

Report by Nana POKU
The leader and founder of Movement for Change, Hon Alan Kwadwo Kyeremateng has stated unequivocally that
most of the eye pleasing policies of the ruling are the products of his brain and works. He claims that these started
from the government of President John Agyekum Kufour to the current President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo.
The former Trade Minister made this bold statement when he was hosted by Kwaku Sintim Misa (KSM) on the
KSM Show. He stated that he has tremendously contributed to the NPP more than what people know of, and the
party owes him gratitude and not the other way round.
"I have been around from 1990 before the ban on politics was lifted, and then we formed the Young Executives,
which l led. But this did not end there. The group funded Kufuors' campaign to a large extent,” he said.
The former Trade Minister postulated that he wanted to contest in the 1996 primaries of the NPP, but the likes of
Akenten Appiah Menkah and Kwame Donkor Forjuor prevailed on him to bide his time since there was a long
queue at the time.
He claimed that at that time, if he had contested, he would have won hands down and gone ahead to win the general
elections that eluded the party that year.
“I was always at the Supreme Court during the court action
Subsequently, JA Kufour won in 2000 and made him an ambassador to the US but was brought back the Trade
Ministry to help him introduce some flagship programmes like ‘The Presidential Special Initiatives’, ‘AGOA’ and
the ‘Friday Wear’ initiatives.
He described these as some of the many important programmes for the Kufuor administration.
"When we lost the 2008 elections, which l contested in the primaries, I got an appointment at the African Economic
Commission at Addis Ababa, but did not run away as some people misrepresented and portrayed. I came back to
support the party and the flag bearer in the 2012 elections, as well as the 2016 elections.
“So when Nana Addo won, I was the first minister he appointed. That shows the confidence he had in me.
Remember, I am an international man with vast experience,” he stated.
The ace politician and technocrat said, when he went to Ethiopia he conceived the idea of a Common African
Market and Rural Industrial Programme.
As a result when he was appointed the Trade Minister, he announced One District One Factory programme.
“Again, I reached out to President Kufor, Rawlings, Asantehene, and Nana Addo to fight for the establishment of
the African Continental Free Trade Area and succeeded in shifing its headquarters to Accra, Ghana,” he said.
Alan lamented that soon after the introduction of the IDIF programme, it was taken away from him and placed under
the presidency and later put in a secretariat under a former Minister of State, Gifty Ohene Konadu.
“It will interest listeners to know that I was not given the free hands to operate my own initiative. I had to fight with
the Presidency before four years later they brought it back to the Ministry, this time with no funding for it because in
the handling it did they knew next to nothing about it. This initiative is one of the best policies of the president so
far,” he stated.
“This is how l was frustrated and sidelined by the powers that be so that at a point, I had to call it quits," he said.
Alan again told the host that he was the engineer and architect of the Ports Reformation and Transformation that has
raked in billions of Ghana cedis of late.
According to him he rejuvenated and revitalized the country's ports and after the exercise, the ports started realising
more revenues.
"When the reformation had been done, within three months, Customs Division cashed in 3 more billion cedis.
“As I talk to you, from 2019 to 2023, the revenue proceeds have shot up to a gigantic 32 billion Ghana cedis. So this
is my story and the immense role l have played in the party,” he said.