Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom shares his vision to improve life in Ghana in this second volume of essays and articles. Nduom, a former presidential candidate, has filled a number of positions in the government, and he spent several years consulti
Where I Stand Volume II
A Collection of Speeches, Essays, and Newspaper Articles, 1995–1999By Papa Kwesi NduomiUniverse, Inc.
Copyright © 2012 Papa Kwesi Nduom, PhD, CMC
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4759-1047-6Contents
Introduction.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................1Brought Back to Ghana..............................................................................................................................................................................................................5My Thoughts on 1996 Speech Delivered to the Rotary Club of Accra...................................................................................................................................................................11I Stand Accused!...................................................................................................................................................................................................................17Letter to the Editor of the Ghanaian Times.........................................................................................................................................................................................23Suggestions to Protect the National Interest in 1996...............................................................................................................................................................................27Constraints to Investing In Ghana "Independence Means Not Having to Beg Your Neighbor for a Cigarette Tin of Gari" Presented at the Continuing Legal Education Programme Workshop of the Ghana Bar Association.....................31Speech Delivered at the 66th Speech and Prize-Giving Day of St. Augustine's College................................................................................................................................................43Unite or Perish! The Reconciliation Imperative Speech Delivered to the Rotary Club of Kumasi-East..................................................................................................................................51To the President of the Republic Of Ghana, J. J. Rawlings..........................................................................................................................................................................57Vision for Nation-Building: An Economist's View "A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste" The University of Education, Winneba.........................................................................................................61Considerations toward a Successful Implementation of the Value-Added Tax (VAT) System in Ghana.....................................................................................................................................67"A Great, Free, and Caring Society" Speech Given at the Tenth Anniversary Celebration Dinner of the Independent Newspaper..........................................................................................................73The District Assembly: An Imperative for Change to Enhance Local Development and Grassroots Democracy..............................................................................................................................83What Happened?.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................91About the Author...................................................................................................................................................................................................................93
Chapter One
Brought Back to Ghana
I left Ghana on January 17, 1996, flying toward Washington, DC. My mission was to make a presentation on business opportunities in Ghana at a conference organized by the Wharton African Students Association (WASA) at the prestigious Wharton School of Business in Pennsylvania.
I was to share the podium with top executives from American Express, Ford Motors Corporation, General Motors, Merrill Lynch, Chrysler, General Electric, Arthur Andersen, and others. Our assignment was to open a window to the world of business to black business school graduates and entrepreneurs. We were to be role models, sources of information, guides, councilors, and recruiters. I was scheduled to speak at the conference on January 20, 1996.
The flight landed in Washington, DC, on the afternoon of January 18. The minister of finance at the time, Hon. Kwame Peprah, was on the flight. I said hello to him and exchanged greetings and small talk about the situation in Ghana. Officials from the Ghanaian embassy in Washington, DC, met him on arrival, and they whisked him away through diplomatic channels. I went through the normal immigration and customs procedures. I received the usual welcome greeting from an immigration officer.
Then my world changed. My brother met me at the airport. If he had been a white man, I would have described him as looking pale. He looked worried and carried a news story published in the Ghanaian Times of January 18, 1996. In it, there was an announcement that I had been sacked from the board of directors of the Ghana Airways Corporation. This was said to be due to an investigation into the activities of the State Enterprises Commission. While I was to learn later that I was not a specific target of the investigation, my wife and I were alleged to have engaged in activities serious enough to warrant mention in the Times story. I was also the subject of a Ghanaian Times editorial that disclosed their version of fees alleged to have been paid to me, along with other comments related to my involvement with the Commission.
I am not sure how I got home from the airport. When we arrived at my residence at Lake Barcroft in Falls Church, Virginia, I realized how busy the fax machine had been. A number of people had faxed several copies of the same story and editorial to me. I spoke to my wife and learned I had been sacked from the same Ghana Airways Board on Ghana Broadcasting Corporation Television as well.
Within twenty-four hours, all contracts that companies I was associated with held with organizations related to government were suspended, canceled, or on notice to be cancelled! I had arrived in Ghana at last!
This is not a story about the government of Ghana, the State Enterprises Commission, the Ghanaian Times, or the Serious Fraud Office. It is about coming home to Ghana. As a result of January 18, 1996, I have come to understand why some people believe "it is difficult to go back home again."
In 1990, I seriously thought about moving from the United States to Ghana. As a Young Pioneer, I was supposed to be one of the new Africans, groomed to take my place in the country Kwame Nkrumah led to independence imbued with a new African personality characterized by excellence, confidence, and self-respect. I had come from a CPP home. My father strongly favored my going to the University of Ghana's School of Administration over my going to the United States. To him, there was more pride in staying in Ghana. Perhaps he was worried that I might not come back after my studies if I went outside of Ghana.
The early 1970s was a good time to be black in a university in the United States. There were benefits to be gained from...
