Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng has paid glowing tribute to the late President John Evans Atta Mills, describing him as a leader whose life and presidency were marked by peace, humility, integrity, transparency, accountability and servant leadership.
Speaking at the 14th John Evans Atta Mills Commemorative Lecture in Accra, the renowned cardiothoracic surgeon and former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation reflected on the enduring legacy of the late President and challenged Ghanaians to consider what the nation might have achieved had Prof. Mills completed his first term and possibly served a second.
“Remembering what President Mills stood for compels us to ask a more searching question: what would have been the condition of Ghana today if he had had the strength to complete his first term and perhaps serve a second?” Prof. Frimpong-Boateng asked.
A legacy of integrity
Prof. Frimpong-Boateng noted that President Mills, who served from January 7, 2009, until his death on July 24, 2012, governed with a strong commitment to the rule of law and ethical leadership.
He recalled that the late President was laid to rest at Asomdwee Park on August 10, 2012, and commended efforts by the Akufo-Addo administration to restore the memorial park, which was recommissioned in 2022.
He also praised the support given for the construction of the Atta Mills Memorial House and Library in Ekumfi Otuam, the late President’s ancestral home.
However, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng expressed concern that the John Evans Atta Mills Memorial Library and Research Facility, inaugurated in 2016, had reportedly fallen into disrepair, although renovation works had now begun.
Floods and institutional failure
Using the recent floods in Greater Accra as an example, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng criticised what he described as institutional neglect and the country’s failure to properly manage waste and protect its wetlands.
He argued that flooding could not be addressed merely by urging citizens to stop dumping refuse into drains, but required a comprehensive waste management system that collects, recycles and disposes of waste effectively.
According to him, several planned flood retention ponds and protected wetlands in Greater Accra had been encroached upon, often with the tacit approval of state institutions responsible for enforcing land-use regulations.
“A nation that cannot summon the discipline to manage its waste and protect its wetlands cannot undertake the disciplined and sustained project of national development that Professor Mills envisioned,” he stated.
Personal reflections on Atta Mills
In one of the most personal moments of his lecture, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng revealed that President Mills had dismissed him twice from public office, yet insisted that this did not diminish his respect for the late leader.
He described those dismissals as his “credentials,” explaining that they gave him no reason to flatter President Mills’ memory.
“If I speak well of him, it is not because I owe him anything, but because I knew him,” he said.
Prof. Frimpong-Boateng recounted three encounters with President Mills before he became President, saying they convinced him that the late leader was compassionate, ethical and deeply committed to fighting corruption.
He also disclosed that President Mills’ illness appeared to have affected him during his presidency, creating opportunities for some individuals within his administration to pursue personal agendas.
The Better Ghana Agenda
The former minister highlighted what he described as significant achievements under the Mills administration’s “Better Ghana Agenda,” including strong economic growth, a reduction in the budget deficit, single-digit inflation, expanded healthcare coverage and a reduction in schools under trees.
He also cited Ghana’s attainment of lower-middle-income status, cocoa production reaching one million metric tonnes, the commencement of commercial oil production from the Jubilee Field in 2010, and the establishment of the University of Health and Allied Sciences and specialised institutions under the University for Development Studies.
“These were not cosmetic achievements,” he said, adding that they demonstrated purposeful and integrity-led governance.
Governance and corruption
Prof. Frimpong-Boateng praised President Mills for reducing the number of ministers, cutting unnecessary presidential staff positions and taking decisive action against ministers accused of wrongdoing.
He contrasted this with what he described as recent examples of impunity, particularly the discontinuation of some banking sector cleanup cases involving individuals accused of misusing depositors’ funds.
According to him, President Mills’ leadership reflected an ethic of accountability, while the abandonment of such cases represented an ethic of impunity.
Ghana’s missed opportunities
The former minister lamented that Ghana had missed several major opportunities for national development, beginning with Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s Seven-Year Development Plan, which he said was abandoned after the 1966 coup.
He argued that if successive governments had continued the plan, Ghana might have achieved levels of industrialisation comparable to countries such as South Korea and Malaysia.
Prof. Frimpong-Boateng also criticised Ghana for failing to fully leverage Kofi Annan’s leadership of the United Nations to secure transformative industrial support from the UN system.
He noted that Ghana’s first major industrial partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) was signed only in 2019, years after Kofi Annan had left office.
“Ghana has no such story of sustained discipline to tell,” he remarked, describing the country as one of missed opportunities.
The lecture brought together government officials, academics, political figures and admirers of the late President to reflect on his enduring legacy and Ghana’s path toward ethical governance and sustainable development.
Story by: Ernest Frimpong (0247220948) | Follow our social media handles @uktvghana | DM us for Ads on our website or any of our socials
