Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor, a former Defence Minister and Board Chair of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), according to Daniel Yaw Domelevo, “is one of the strange public servants” Ghana has ever had.
The former Auditor-General has described Dr. Addo Kufuor as “an exceptional man” whose sort is scarce to come by in the country as far as public service is concerned.
According to Mr. Domelevo, whilst many public servants were running away from audit, Dr. Addo-Kufuor was rather pushing to be audited before taking his exit as Board Chair of SSNIT.
Speaking on Onua TV’s morning show, Maakye, Monday, April 1, 2024, Mr. Domelevo said he didn’t believe it when Dr. Addo-Kufuor first requested to be audited until he made a follow-up on it.
He has been telling host of Maakye, Captain Smart, how the whole thing unfolded, leading to the audit which was subsequently conducted before the man left office.
“That man is an exceptional man. He is a different calibre of public servant. He extended his hand to me and said I want my period to be audited before I leave. And I was like “whilst people don’t want to be audited you want to be audited?” He is one of the strange public servants I’ve come across.
“I don’t remember the details but we met at a certain function and he said it and I thought he was joking. Then he followed up that I want you to audit my period before I exit office so that if there are issues that I have to answer then I answer them now instead of later on. And I must say that he is one of the people whom I found very exceptional for him to be bold enough that “police, come and search my house and let me know in case you find anything”. It is something to be commended. I have a lot of respect for him,” he praised.
He served as Defence Minister under the erstwhile John Kufuor administration and later as the Board Chairman of SSNIT.
Born July 14, 1940, Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor is a politician and physician. He was a member of Parliament for Manhyia and Bekwai, all in the Ashanti region, and from 2001 to 2007, he was the Minister of Defence under President John Kufuor, his brother. Between June 2008 and 2009, he was the Minister for Interior before becoming Board Chairman of SSNIT between 2017 and 2020.
As Board Chairman of the Trust, Dr. Addo-Kufuor was adjudged ‘Outstanding Board Chairman of the Year 2019’ at the 10th Ghana Entrepreneur and Corporate Executive Awards on Saturday, July 18, 2020, held at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra.
Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor is said to have personally exchanged gifts he was to be given by the Chinese government for the current Ministry of Defence building after embarking on an official trip with a Ghanaian delegation to the giant of Asia. After asking to get him a house and some vehicles, Dr. Addo-Kufuor is said to have objected and requested that the old Defence Ministry building be pulled down and rebuilt. The Chinese government, after approving his request, put up the structure and gave it out as Addo Kufuor’s gift to Ghana. He also laid the foundation for the building of the Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Centre, a brainchild of former President Rawlings which was started by the German government. He is currently the Chancellor of the Kumasi Technical University.
