Former finance minister and National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer candidate Dr. Kwabena Duffuor has stated that he is prepared to assist the government in managing Ghana’s current economic difficulties.
In response to a request, he declared that he would use his knowledge and skills to assist the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration in navigating the current economic crisis. “I am ready to offer that voluntary service to the nation at this point in time when called upon. I will offer the experience that I gained from managing the economy, from the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and my think-thank, the Institute of Fiscal Studies, and in macroeconomics free of charge to help bring relief to the people”, Dr. Duffuor told Daily Graphic in Accra.
Dr. Duffuor mentioned the government’s Debt Exchange Program and proposed the creation of an economic national rescue team as a means of resolving the current problem. “This is so because it has been established that no problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created the problems, hence there is a need for the establishment of an economic national rescue team to resolve the present crisis,” he said.
In February 2009, Dr. Duffuor, who voluntarily left the Bank of Ghana in September 2001, was named minister of finance and economic planning. Dr. Duffuor will outperform expectations in the contest to be the NDC flagbearer, according to pollster Ben Ephson in a recent interview.
Ben Ephson predicted that Dr. Duffuor will perform better than most people think, even though former president John Dramani Mahama is widely regarded as the favorite.
The details of the rivalry between Dr. Kwabena Duffuor and former President Mahama, he said, “Clearly Dr. Duffuor will give the former President a run for his money but he (former President Mahama) will emerge victorious. Former President Mahama will win the flagbearer race but he will not win by the 95 percent he won in the last flagbearer race.”
He contends that the previous President has already acquired the devotion of party members, with certain executives owning their loyalty to him, something Dr. Duffuor cannot change.
