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Former President Kufuor explains why he took Ghana to HIPC
Ghana in 2001 under the presidency of John Agyekum Kufuor, was declared a Heavily Indebted Poor Country, HIPC, by the World Bank.
According to the President, creditors were not looking at Ghana because of the debt his predecessor had left behind so, there was no benefit and the macro-economy was in “shambles”.
This is because the previous government had preached a very ‘bloomsome’ picture to depict that all was well, so, Ghana was too proud to admit its indebtedness.
President Kufuor told KSM on ‘The KSM’ show that prior to winning the 2000 election, his government had promised to do a lot for Ghana to grow economically but things were different when he was sworn in on January 7, 2001.
“Through the campaign of becoming President, we had promised a lot. We talked about going to usher in the golden age of business, and what we will do to turn around the economy etc; we go in there and found empty coffers; not just empty coffers, piles and piles of loans, indebtedness. The nation was practically insolvent. Even the fuel stations had long queues of vehicles because there was no petrol to sell.
“Nigeria had blacklisted Ghana because Ghana owed them some supplies; so, they cut us off. We had to rush to Nigeria and beg the president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo. This was a state thing and I had to get my government and economy working.
“I went there to plead. At the presidency, Obasanjo had assembled his entire cabinet and asked me why I am in their country, so, I told him that I am here to plead so that you restore supplies to Ghana. The place was quiet, the President raised his head back and said, ‘well, our policy is not to continue supplying people who do not pay, so that is why we are not supplying Ghana’.
“I told him that mine was a new government and we needed to have a fresh start and I assured them that when they supply, my government will do everything with its power to pay. Then Obasanjo said, I had to give a written undertaken that when they supply Ghana I will pay. Something hit me at that point, I sensed the mood was softening a bit so I said Mr President if that is the only thing you want, then please give me pen and paper to write to you that when you supply us, we will pay. He burst into laughter; he then said he will give Ghana 30,000 barrels of crude a day for 90 days on credit…true to his word, for the entire eight-year period of my government, the suppliers came [constantly],” President Kufuor said.
He recounted an international conference in Bamako, the capital of Mali, where he had attended on an invitation and met so many dignitaries including the Director of IMF, President of the World Bank and the Secretary of State for International Development of the UK, Clair Short.
President Kufuor said, during the break, he was “cornered” by these dignitaries and somehow, they wanted to get his thoughts on so many issues especially, the policies he had come to power with because he was a new “boy” on the bloc.
He noted that it took the lady, Clair Short to tell me that “look, everybody knows the state of Ghana’s economy, if you tell the truth about the economy then you will get the help you want [because] we know that you are HIPC so, if you will avail yourself to an IMF programme, then you may get the reliefs you want.
“So, that registered with me; the IMF Director then said, if I take the step, he will work with us so, that we come out of the indebtedness. The previous regime had got us there but pride could not make us admit that we are indebted and because of that inflation was over 40%…the cedi against the dollar was high…so, it was impossible for us to move with all the plans we came to office with…
“These three people wanted me to consider that the situation was messy, so, I should own up. I came back to Ghana, assembled my team and told them that nobody want to hear HIPC so, we should find an alternative to HIPC but nothing clicked…I tasked the Finance Minister to go and inform Parliament that we have decided to go to HIPC…truly Britain was the first country to give us a relief of 50 million pounds to service our loans; other countries followed,” he stressed.
President Kufuor noted that he felt fulfilled to have attended the Mali conference which became of great help to Ghana.
He said when Ghana’s debt was cancelled, he decided to write on projects that he constructed after the ‘benefit of HIPC’ – something Ghanaians mocked him for.
President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned four career diplomats as ambassador-designates to represent Ghana in four countries.
The commissioning ceremony took place on Friday, October 16, 2026.
The new envoys are Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo, Ambassador-Designate to Angola; His Excellency Louis Kwame Obeng, Ambassador-Designate to Qatar; Her Excellency Evelyn Korantemaa Ofosu-Amable, Ambassador-Designate to Israel; and His Excellency Jedidiah Reuben Adogla, Permanent Representative-Designate to Switzerland.
President Mahama charged them to advance Ghana’s national interests through strategic partnerships, economic diplomacy, investment mobilization, and expanded access to international markets.
He said Ghana’s diplomatic engagements must deliver tangible economic benefits, create jobs, and strengthen the country’s standing on the international stage.
The four envoys are career diplomats with over 27 years of experience.
On behalf of her colleagues, Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo thanked the President for the confidence reposed in them and pledged their commitment to emulate his leadership and deliver on the mandate given to them.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
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