Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has compared himself to a seed that has the potential to grow after being planted by former President John Agyekum Kufuor.
The fact that Dr. Bawumia’s political godfather is the former President is not a secret, and he acknowledges the invaluable advice and leadership of the man who has repeatedly and outspokenly identified the vice president as his son.
Former President Kufuor has consistently praised Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia of Ghana, referring to him as a “True Son.”
The former president claims that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who held the position of deputy governor of the Bank of Ghana during his administration, has been a devoted follower of his leadership ever since he first got to know him.
“Let me single out one person, he is also a father but I can claim that he happens to be my son too and that’s the Vice President sitting right by me. In your narration, you said when the planners decided to invite the Vice President, you learnt he had gone to the North for some duties and you even doubted whether he will manage to come”, he is quoted to have said at a public event.
Dr. Bawumia described how he was found, given important responsibilities during the administration of Kufuor, and later chosen to be the 2008 presidential running mate. He did this while making a public observation on the father-son relationship between them.
“There was a time that the Financial Times organized a forum on Ghana’s economy during President Kufuor’s Era. At that forum, President Kufuor, Osarfo Marfo, Dr. Paul Aquah, myself and other key dignitaries from Ghana attended. While the forum was going on, I sensed some things were not put right about the economy of Ghana so I asked to be given the opportunity to speak, and thankfully my request was granted. When I finished speaking the whole atmosphere in the room had changed. People had then understood what the economic policy of the Kufuor government was. In short while we went for a coffee break and President Kufuor asked for me. When I went he said, young man, you have done well, keep it up, you will go far. Just the same week after we returned to Ghana President Kufuor appointed me to the board of Ghana telecom”, he revealed.
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia was a key member of the government’s technical negotiating team for the HIPC in 2001 and served as co-chair of the Economic Policy Coordinating Committee under President Kufuor.
As chairman of the Capital Markets Committee, President Kufuor made Ghana the first post-HIPC country in the world to have access to the international capital markets. He was also an important member of the team that implemented the redenomination of the cedi, Ezwich, and the Bank of Ghana’s inflation targeting framework.
