Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, the minister of trade and industry, has stepped down from his position.
This development was confirmed to oilcityradio.com by sources close to the Minister.
According to oilcityradio.com, the minister gave President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo his letter of resignation on January 5, 2023.
Although the Minister’s reasons for leaving the Akufo-Addo administration are unknown, it is assumed that he made the decision to allow him to properly focus on his presidential aspirations after holding the portfolio since 2017.
In 2007, the 67-year-old made his first run for the New Patriotic Party’s flagbearer position, but he was unsuccessful because Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo won.
Mr. Kyerematen, also known as “Alan Cash,” attempted again in 2010 and 2014 but failed.
Since 2018, he has promoted the government’s One District One Factory initiative, which has given birth to about 170 factories nationwide.
Under Mr. Kyerematen’s direction at the Trade Ministry, the nation also saw global automakers like Suzuki, VW, Nissan, Sino Trucks, and others produce locally under the Automotive Development Policy.
From 2003 to 2007, Alan Kyerematen held the same position.
He has a long and illustrious history in politics, diplomacy, business development, public policy, and international trade.
He is a former ambassador to the US, a senior corporate executive, a lawyer, and a UN policy advisor. From 2003 to 2007, he served as Ghana’s Minister of Trade, Industry, and Presidential Special Initiatives. During that time, he oversaw the design, development, and implementation of special initiatives and innovative programs that have since evolved into the country’s new strategic growth pillars.
In the WTO, the EU-ACP Economic Partnership Negotiations, AGOA, and UNCTAD, he was also instrumental in establishing the trade policy agenda for Africa.
Mr. Kyerematen served as Ghana’s ambassador to the US from 2001 to 2003 before being named Minister. He initiated the formation of the Ghana-United States Economic Council, which played a crucial role in strengthening trade ties between the two nations, and he negotiated a number of historic trade and investment agreements between Ghana and the United States in that capacity. Between 1998 and 2001, Alan Kyerematen held the position of first Regional Director for UNDP’s flagship program for the growth and promotion of small and medium-sized businesses in Africa, ENTERPRISE AFRICA.
He established enterprise support programs within that framework in 13 Sub-Saharan African nations, including Botswana, Benin, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda. These programs have helped more than 4,000 African entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Alan Kyerematen was in charge of launching and running the EMPRETEC Programme in Ghana in 1990, a prestigious business development organization supported by the UN and Barclays Bank Limited. He oversaw the transformation of EMPRETEC from a UN project into an independent foundation that is now known as a top-tier organization and a benchmark for the growth of entrepreneurship in Africa.
He served as the Principal Consultant and Head of Public Systems Management for the Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI), Ghana’s preeminent management development organization, between 1984 and 1990, managing a number of significant private and public sector consulting assignments. Prior to that, he served with distinction in a variety of managerial roles for UAC Ghana Ltd, a Unilever International subsidiary, from 1977 to 1984 as a senior corporate executive.
Alan Kyerematen holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Ghana and a law degree from the Ghana Law School. In addition, he was a Hubert Humphrey Fellow at the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Affairs and School of Management as part of the US Fulbright Fellowship Program. He was a member of the British Executive Service Overseas (BESO) Council of Governors in the United Kingdom, and he has also served on the boards of several other organizations in Ghana.
Mr. Kyerematen was named one of the top 100 Global Leaders for the New Millennium by Time International Magazine in 1994, alongside Bill Gates and John F. Kennedy Jr. of the United States of America. In 2013, the African Union’s Heads of State nominated him to be Africa’s candidate for the position of World Trade Organization Director General (WTO).
