![\"Tributes](\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Kwesi-Botchwey.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\nTributes pour in for Prof. Kwesi Botchwey – Quintessential statesman, politician <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Tributes<\/span>\u00a0have been\u00a0<\/span>pouring in for a former\u00a0<\/span>Minister of Finance,\u00a0<\/span>Professor Kwesi Botchwey,\u00a0<\/span>who died at the Korle Bu\u00a0<\/span>Teaching Hospital last\u00a0<\/span>Saturday, aged 78.<\/span><\/h2>\n <\/span>Family members, politicians,\u00a0<\/span>academics and other members of the\u00a0<\/span>public have described him as the\u00a0<\/span>quintessential politician and statesman\u00a0<\/span>who served his country well<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\nPurest heart<\/strong><\/p>\nFamily members described him as a\u00a0<\/span>man with the purest of heart.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cProf. Botchwey, affectionately called\u00a0<\/span>Doctor B by the family, was not only\u00a0<\/span>supportive financially but also devoted\u00a0<\/span>his time to family matters and was\u00a0<\/span>always ready to listen.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cHe was very supportive of the\u00a0<\/span>family; and for him it was not all about\u00a0<\/span>money \u2014 he had time, he was\u00a0<\/span>approachable, always ready to give\u00a0<\/span>direction. <\/span><\/p>\nMany of us attribute our\u00a0<\/span>successes to him,\u201d a member of the\u00a0<\/span>family told <\/span>Graphic Online Sun<\/span>day.<\/span><\/p>\nRelated:\u00a0Prof Kwesi Botchwey, former Finance Minister dies at 78<\/span><\/p>\nQuintessential politician,\u00a0statesman<\/strong><\/p>\nIn separate interviews with <\/span>Graphic Online,\u00a0<\/span>the National Chairman and the\u00a0<\/span>General Secretary of the National\u00a0<\/span>Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel\u00a0<\/span>Ofosu Ampofo and Johnson Asiedu\u00a0<\/span>Nketia, respectively, said Prof. Botchwey\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>demise was a great loss to the NDC and\u00a0<\/span>the nation.<\/span><\/p>\nThe two principal officers of the party\u00a0<\/span>said it was the work of Prof. Botchwey\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>committee that made the NDC bounce\u00a0<\/span>back strongly in the 2020 elections.<\/span><\/p>\nBefore his demise, Prof. Botchwey was\u00a0<\/span>a member of the Council of Elders of the\u00a0<\/span>NDC.<\/span><\/p>\nMr Ofosu Ampofo described the Prof.\u00a0<\/span>Botchwey as a \u201cutility person\u201d who had\u00a0<\/span>deep knowledge in finance and\u00a0<\/span>economic planning and placed his\u00a0<\/span>expertise and experience at the disposal\u00a0<\/span>of his party and the country.<\/span><\/p>\nHe said Prof. Botchwey\u2019s contribution\u00a0<\/span>as a member of the NDC\u2019s Council of\u00a0<\/span>Elders was so phenomenal.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cIndeed, despite his age, he accepted\u00a0<\/span>to chair the committee that went round\u00a0<\/span>the whole country to solicit the views of\u00a0<\/span>party members as to what went wrong in\u00a0<\/span>the 2016 elections.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cIt is sad that as we are all working so\u00a0<\/span>hard to win the 2024 general election, he\u00a0<\/span>passed on suddenly. <\/span><\/p>\n“We will miss the\u00a0<\/span>numerous pieces of advice and\u00a0<\/span>suggestions which he offered the party,\u201d\u00a0<\/span>Mr Ofosu Ampofo said.<\/span><\/p>\nHe said Prof. Botchwey was an affable\u00a0<\/span>person, easy to reach and always ready to\u00a0<\/span>help, adding: \u201cI remember some of the\u00a0<\/span>advice and suggestions he offered.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\nPrincipled<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\nMr Asiedu Nketia said Prof. Botchwey\u00a0<\/span>fought for internal democracy in the\u00a0<\/span>party and stood by the principles and\u00a0<\/span>ideals he believed in.<\/span><\/p>\nHe said as Finance Minister, Prof.\u00a0<\/span>Botchwey resigned when the Valued\u00a0<\/span>Added Tax (VAT) he introduced was\u00a0<\/span>withdrawn by the government. <\/span><\/p>\nOthers<\/strong><\/p>\nA leading member of the New\u00a0<\/span>Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Asare Otchere-<\/span>Darko, took to Twitter to eulogise Prof.\u00a0<\/span>Botchwey <\/span>\u201cFormer Finance Minister Kwesi\u00a0<\/span>Botchwey is dead. His leadership and\u00a0<\/span>commitment to the structural changes\u00a0<\/span>to our economy in the late\u00a0<\/span>1980s were critical and the\u00a0<\/span>impact is still with us today.\u00a0<\/span>May he rest in perpetual\u00a0<\/span>peace,\u201d he wrote.<\/span><\/p>\nAn Accra-based lawyer,\u00a0<\/span>Nana Kwaku Kumi, said\u00a0<\/span>Prof. Botchwey was one fine\u00a0<\/span>gentleman he never met.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\u201cYet he occupied pride of\u00a0<\/span>place in my heart as a\u00a0<\/span>politician. I got to know him\u00a0<\/span>very early in my life as a\u00a0<\/span>little boy through the power\u00a0<\/span>of television. In those days,\u00a0<\/span>during the Jerry Rawlings\u00a0<\/span>PNDC era, I recall that two\u00a0<\/span>people usually had the\u00a0<\/span>privilege of addressing the\u00a0<\/span>whole nation, not\u00a0<\/span>necessarily by law but by\u00a0<\/span>default, on TV annually.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cThese two were Jerry\u00a0<\/span>Rawlings himself and Prof.\u00a0<\/span>Botchwey. Rawlings, as head\u00a0<\/span>of state, always attended the\u00a0<\/span>anniversary of the 31st December\u00a0<\/span>Revolution, where he stood at attention\u00a0<\/span>in his military fatigues and took the\u00a0<\/span>national salute from all the various\u00a0<\/span>groups taking part in the march pass,\u201d\u00a0<\/span>he said.<\/span><\/p>\nThe Director of Strategy and Business\u00a0<\/span>Operations at Dalex Finance, Joe\u00a0<\/span>Jackson, also eulogised Prof. Botchwey on\u00a0<\/span>Twitter.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cYour passing, at this time of an\u00a0<\/span>economic crisis, increases my nostalgia\u00a0<\/span>for your record term as Finance Minister.<\/span><\/p>\n“We will forever remember you as the\u00a0<\/span>minister who changed our economic\u00a0<\/span>fortunes. Rest in peace, Uncle Kwesi.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nProfile<\/strong><\/p>\nA well-respected economist and\u00a0<\/span>governance expert, Prof. Botchwey served\u00a0<\/span>as Secretary of Finance during the\u00a0<\/span>military era of the Provisional National\u00a0<\/span>Defence Council (PNDC) (1982 to 1992)\u00a0<\/span>and as Minister of Finance and\u00a0<\/span>Economic Planning under\u00a0<\/span>the NDC (January 7, 1993 to 1995). <\/span><\/p>\nHe is known as the\u00a0<\/span>country’s longest-serving\u00a0<\/span>Finance Minister.<\/span><\/p>\nProf. Botchwey received\u00a0<\/span>his secondary education at\u00a0<\/span>the Presbyterian Boys\u2019\u00a0<\/span>Secondary School in Accra.<\/span><\/p>\nHe had an LL.B. from the\u00a0<\/span>University of Ghana, LL.M\u00a0<\/span>from the Yale Law School\u00a0<\/span>and a Ph.D from the\u00a0<\/span>University of Michigan Law\u00a0<\/span>School.<\/span><\/p>\nHe taught at the\u00a0<\/span>University of Zambia, the\u00a0<\/span>University of Dar es Salaam\u00a0<\/span>(Tanzania) and the\u00a0<\/span>University of Ghana. <\/span><\/p>\nOther notable previous\u00a0<\/span>assignments were advisor\u00a0<\/span>to the World Bank on the<\/span>1997 World Development\u00a0<\/span>Report.<\/span><\/p>\nHe was, among others, a\u00a0<\/span>member and Chairman of the IMF\u2018s\u00a0<\/span>Group of Independent Experts who\u00a0<\/span>conducted the first-ever external\u00a0<\/span>evaluation of the Enhanced Structural\u00a0<\/span>Adjustment Facility, an advisor to the\u00a0<\/span>UNDP\u2019s UN Special Initiative on Africa\u00a0<\/span>and an advisor to the European Centre\u00a0<\/span>for Development Policy Management\u00a0<\/span>(ECDPM).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Purest heart<\/strong><\/p>\n Family members described him as a\u00a0<\/span>man with the purest of heart.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cProf. Botchwey, affectionately called\u00a0<\/span>Doctor B by the family, was not only\u00a0<\/span>supportive financially but also devoted\u00a0<\/span>his time to family matters and was\u00a0<\/span>always ready to listen.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHe was very supportive of the\u00a0<\/span>family; and for him it was not all about\u00a0<\/span>money \u2014 he had time, he was\u00a0<\/span>approachable, always ready to give\u00a0<\/span>direction. <\/span><\/p>\n Many of us attribute our\u00a0<\/span>successes to him,\u201d a member of the\u00a0<\/span>family told <\/span>Graphic Online Sun<\/span>day.<\/span><\/p>\n Related:\u00a0Prof Kwesi Botchwey, former Finance Minister dies at 78<\/span><\/p>\n Quintessential politician,\u00a0statesman<\/strong><\/p>\n In separate interviews with <\/span>Graphic Online,\u00a0<\/span>the National Chairman and the\u00a0<\/span>General Secretary of the National\u00a0<\/span>Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel\u00a0<\/span>Ofosu Ampofo and Johnson Asiedu\u00a0<\/span>Nketia, respectively, said Prof. Botchwey\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>demise was a great loss to the NDC and\u00a0<\/span>the nation.<\/span><\/p>\n The two principal officers of the party\u00a0<\/span>said it was the work of Prof. Botchwey\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>committee that made the NDC bounce\u00a0<\/span>back strongly in the 2020 elections.<\/span><\/p>\n Before his demise, Prof. Botchwey was\u00a0<\/span>a member of the Council of Elders of the\u00a0<\/span>NDC.<\/span><\/p>\n Mr Ofosu Ampofo described the Prof.\u00a0<\/span>Botchwey as a \u201cutility person\u201d who had\u00a0<\/span>deep knowledge in finance and\u00a0<\/span>economic planning and placed his\u00a0<\/span>expertise and experience at the disposal\u00a0<\/span>of his party and the country.<\/span><\/p>\n He said Prof. Botchwey\u2019s contribution\u00a0<\/span>as a member of the NDC\u2019s Council of\u00a0<\/span>Elders was so phenomenal.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIndeed, despite his age, he accepted\u00a0<\/span>to chair the committee that went round\u00a0<\/span>the whole country to solicit the views of\u00a0<\/span>party members as to what went wrong in\u00a0<\/span>the 2016 elections.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt is sad that as we are all working so\u00a0<\/span>hard to win the 2024 general election, he\u00a0<\/span>passed on suddenly. <\/span><\/p>\n “We will miss the\u00a0<\/span>numerous pieces of advice and\u00a0<\/span>suggestions which he offered the party,\u201d\u00a0<\/span>Mr Ofosu Ampofo said.<\/span><\/p>\n He said Prof. Botchwey was an affable\u00a0<\/span>person, easy to reach and always ready to\u00a0<\/span>help, adding: \u201cI remember some of the\u00a0<\/span>advice and suggestions he offered.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n Principled<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n Mr Asiedu Nketia said Prof. Botchwey\u00a0<\/span>fought for internal democracy in the\u00a0<\/span>party and stood by the principles and\u00a0<\/span>ideals he believed in.<\/span><\/p>\n He said as Finance Minister, Prof.\u00a0<\/span>Botchwey resigned when the Valued\u00a0<\/span>Added Tax (VAT) he introduced was\u00a0<\/span>withdrawn by the government. <\/span><\/p>\n Others<\/strong><\/p>\n A leading member of the New\u00a0<\/span>Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Asare Otchere-<\/span>Darko, took to Twitter to eulogise Prof.\u00a0<\/span>Botchwey <\/span>\u201cFormer Finance Minister Kwesi\u00a0<\/span>Botchwey is dead. His leadership and\u00a0<\/span>commitment to the structural changes\u00a0<\/span>to our economy in the late\u00a0<\/span>1980s were critical and the\u00a0<\/span>impact is still with us today.\u00a0<\/span>May he rest in perpetual\u00a0<\/span>peace,\u201d he wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n An Accra-based lawyer,\u00a0<\/span>Nana Kwaku Kumi, said\u00a0<\/span>Prof. Botchwey was one fine\u00a0<\/span>gentleman he never met.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\u201cYet he occupied pride of\u00a0<\/span>place in my heart as a\u00a0<\/span>politician. I got to know him\u00a0<\/span>very early in my life as a\u00a0<\/span>little boy through the power\u00a0<\/span>of television. In those days,\u00a0<\/span>during the Jerry Rawlings\u00a0<\/span>PNDC era, I recall that two\u00a0<\/span>people usually had the\u00a0<\/span>privilege of addressing the\u00a0<\/span>whole nation, not\u00a0<\/span>necessarily by law but by\u00a0<\/span>default, on TV annually.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThese two were Jerry\u00a0<\/span>Rawlings himself and Prof.\u00a0<\/span>Botchwey. Rawlings, as head\u00a0<\/span>of state, always attended the\u00a0<\/span>anniversary of the 31st December\u00a0<\/span>Revolution, where he stood at attention\u00a0<\/span>in his military fatigues and took the\u00a0<\/span>national salute from all the various\u00a0<\/span>groups taking part in the march pass,\u201d\u00a0<\/span>he said.<\/span><\/p>\n The Director of Strategy and Business\u00a0<\/span>Operations at Dalex Finance, Joe\u00a0<\/span>Jackson, also eulogised Prof. Botchwey on\u00a0<\/span>Twitter.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYour passing, at this time of an\u00a0<\/span>economic crisis, increases my nostalgia\u00a0<\/span>for your record term as Finance Minister.<\/span><\/p>\n “We will forever remember you as the\u00a0<\/span>minister who changed our economic\u00a0<\/span>fortunes. Rest in peace, Uncle Kwesi.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Profile<\/strong><\/p>\n A well-respected economist and\u00a0<\/span>governance expert, Prof. Botchwey served\u00a0<\/span>as Secretary of Finance during the\u00a0<\/span>military era of the Provisional National\u00a0<\/span>Defence Council (PNDC) (1982 to 1992)\u00a0<\/span>and as Minister of Finance and\u00a0<\/span>Economic Planning under\u00a0<\/span>the NDC (January 7, 1993 to 1995). <\/span><\/p>\n He is known as the\u00a0<\/span>country’s longest-serving\u00a0<\/span>Finance Minister.<\/span><\/p>\n Prof. Botchwey received\u00a0<\/span>his secondary education at\u00a0<\/span>the Presbyterian Boys\u2019\u00a0<\/span>Secondary School in Accra.<\/span><\/p>\n He had an LL.B. from the\u00a0<\/span>University of Ghana, LL.M\u00a0<\/span>from the Yale Law School\u00a0<\/span>and a Ph.D from the\u00a0<\/span>University of Michigan Law\u00a0<\/span>School.<\/span><\/p>\n He taught at the\u00a0<\/span>University of Zambia, the\u00a0<\/span>University of Dar es Salaam\u00a0<\/span>(Tanzania) and the\u00a0<\/span>University of Ghana. <\/span><\/p>\n Other notable previous\u00a0<\/span>assignments were advisor\u00a0<\/span>to the World Bank on the<\/span>1997 World Development\u00a0<\/span>Report.<\/span><\/p>\n He was, among others, a\u00a0<\/span>member and Chairman of the IMF\u2018s\u00a0<\/span>Group of Independent Experts who\u00a0<\/span>conducted the first-ever external\u00a0<\/span>evaluation of the Enhanced Structural\u00a0<\/span>Adjustment Facility, an advisor to the\u00a0<\/span>UNDP\u2019s UN Special Initiative on Africa\u00a0<\/span>and an advisor to the European Centre\u00a0<\/span>for Development Policy Management\u00a0<\/span>(ECDPM).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n