Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has said Africa lacks leaders to
push its development agenda and to add value to what they inherit.
According to the former President, “Africa has had rulers but not
leaders,” adding, “rulers never add to what they inherit but leaders
do.”
Mr. Kufuor was speaking at a ceremony to outdoor Professor Baffour
Agyemang-Duah as the new Chief Executive Officer of his John Agyekum
Kufuor (JAK) Foundation on Tuesday.
Mr. John Agyekum Kufuor, who is Chairman of the Foundation, explained
that a good leader must know the challenges of the people, the
machinery of governance, as well as hold and uphold the constitution.
He stated that the main pillars of the JAK Foundation are based on agriculture, climate change and health.
Prof Agyemang-Duah, before joining the foundation, was the Senior
Special Advisor at the United Nations Mission in Liberia (2008-2013), UN
Senior Governance Advisor in Tanzania (2005-2008), and a co-founder and
former Associate Executive Director of Ghana Centre for Democratic
He studied at the University of Cape Coast, Ohio University and University of Denver.
The former university professor has more than a dozen of his articles
appearing in academic journals and the latest of his three books being;
My Ghanaian Odyssey, published in 2012.
Prof Agyemang-Duah in his speech said he was pleased to be given the
opportunity to serve the Foundation, Ghana and the African continent at
large.
“I was impressed by the former president’s insistence that the JAK
Foundation is independent, non-political and non-profit organisation.
He noted that the most impressive, was his advice that all
initiatives and engagements of the Foundation be guided by the values
and principles of transparency, accountability, inclusion, equity,
fairness and commitment to excellence.
Speaking on projects, the new CEO said the Foundation had developed a
three- pronged approach to its activities, which includes a developed
programme for specialised leadership training, formation and mentoring
with particular focus on the youth.
The CEO stated that the Foundation is also developing a programme to
advance good democratic governance through advocacy and public
education, aside areas of agriculture and health, being the focus of the
Foundation’s socio-economic development programme.
Prof Agyemang-Duah said the foundation would complete the John
Agyekum Kufuor Presidential Library and Museum, an ongoing project on
the campus of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
The JAK Foundation, which was established in 2009, recognises the
persistent challenge of leadership and governance, which continues to
undermine Africa’s development.
It therefore aims at contributing to meet the challenge by advancing
effective leadership, good governance and socio-economic development.
Source: GNA
