Ex-President Kufuor: Africa's Best President?

The Kufuor Foundation claims that former President J.A Kufuor is Africa’s best President ever. The claim is contained in a document made available to Executives ad Staff of the African Development Bank at a meeting in Tunisia recently.

Former President Kufuor is seeking a grant of US$1.5 million for his Foundation from the ADB. The document states categorically that “President Kufuor built an impeccable record on governance, unrivalled in Ghana and on the African continent.”

The Foundation rates former President Kufuor above Osagyefor Dr. Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Nelson Mandela of South Africa and Abdul Gamal Nasser of Egypt. The document lists former President Kufuor’s achievements as follows;

Poverty & Hunger

*People living on one dollar a day or less has declined from 45.9 per cent to 41.1 per cent since 1999.

*The number of extreme poor has increased only 296 million in 1999 to 298 million in 2004.

Education

*Enrolment increased from 57 per cent in 1999 to 70 per cent in 2005 – but a gap of 30 per cent remains

*The number of school age children is increasing daily – Under 14 population expected to reach 403 million from 348 million in 2007

Gender Equality

*Share of parliamentary seats held by women has increased from 7% in 1990 to 17% in 2007.

*The share of women who earn a salary, aside from farming, still stood a less than one-third in 2005.

Environmental sustainability

*Only 42% of people in rural areas had access to clean water in 2004.