Prominent businessman and the founder of the now-defunct UT Bank, Kofi Amoabeng, has voiced his opinion that former President Jerry John Rawlings missed a significant opportunity for the development of Ghana.
He expressed the view that the first Ghanaian President of the 4th Republic did not sufficiently advance the country as required during his tenure.
During an interview on Kingdom FM on Thursday, October 27, 2023, Kofi Amoabeng asserted that the late Jerry John Rawlings had the greatest chance to bring about transformative changes in Ghana, but, in his opinion, he fell short of doing so.
Amoabeng went on to mention that the most notable achievement of the former president of Ghana was overseeing the country’s transition into the fourth republic.
“…when Papa Jay came, what did he do for Ghana? After all the people he killed, what did he do for Ghana?
“He didn’t do anything. What happened to us? But we had some stability, and he gave us the Fourth Republic,” he said.
Kofi Amoabeng made these statements in response to suggestions that Kennedy Agyapong, a hopeful flagbearer for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), might be an effective president for Ghana due to his perceived resemblance to the late Jerry John Rawlings.
Amoabeng contested the notion that Ghana requires a ‘radical president’ to bring about transformation, emphasising that even during the era of Jerry Rawlings, substantial change did not materialise.
Furthermore, Kofi Amoabeng recently criticised the performance of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta. During an interview on TV3 in Accra, he expressed the view that the government had not executed sound economic planning.
“Of course, if you fail with the planning and management of the finances of the country, you have failed.
“So yes, [the Finance Minister] has failed; there is nothing too waste,” he said.
In a different interview, Mr. Amoabeng alleged that the government collapsed Heritage Bank just for political reasons.