Statement: Nduom Congratulates Ex-President Kufuor

I wish to congratulate former President John Agyekum Kufuor for putting in place the John A. Kufuor foundation. It is heartwarming to learn that two universities, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology and the University of Ghana will be beneficiaries of facilities to be made available by the Foundation.

This history in the making and it is in the positive direction. I wish to recall the statement I made in 2008 during the course of the elections that year. I promised to make it possible for the National Museums and Monuments or an appropriate national institution to honour the memory and contributions made by our past Presidents and Prime Ministers. All of them without exception will be honoured.

I made the point that in the United States of America, the State ensures that its past leaders are honoured without fail. The US National Archives has an obligation to work with their Presidents to plan and build museums and libraries in their honour. This does many things at once. It provides the opportunity for international and domestic tourism. The Libraries educate the public about the works and lives of the past Presidents. The Libraries contain the papers, artifacts, photographs, videos/film and other documentaries of Presidents’ activities while in office. The National Archives encourages people through a web site and other forms of communication to be familiar with American history by visiting the libraries and studying the lives and times of their past Presidents.

In the case of former President Clinton, he chose his Library to be sited at Little Rock Arkansas. This has improved tourism immensely and has helped to make Little Rock a point of visitation for many international and domestic tourists. It has improved the economic prospects of the city.

I still propose the appropriate legislation that will ensure that the State funds Presidential Libraries. These Libraries will be the repositories of the papers, records, and historical materials of our past Presidents and Prime Ministers. They will be designed as places for school children and scholars to learn about our past leaders and those events that changed our lives and shaped out nation. They are to be places where public programs are held and where irreplaceable items are stored and made available for viewing. In this regard, I will place before Parliament a Presidential Libraries Act for consideration which when passed will give legal backing to this important initiative. The Act will task the State to find the resources from both public and private sources to build and maintain these Libraries.

Once again, congratulations to former President Kufuor. It is a good move that should be supported by all.