Former Finance Minister Professor Kwesi Botchwey, laid to rest.

Prof Botchwey, who died on Saturday, November 19, was laid to rest on Thursday, December 22 after a burial service held at the forecourt of the state house.

The service had in attendance figures from across the political divide, including President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, former President John Dramani Mahama, former Speaker of Parliament Rev Prof Aaron Mike Oquaye, big wigs of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the clergy and others.

In his sermon, Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church of Ghana Most Rev. Dr Paul Boafo said the late Prof Botchwey left behind a legacy worthy of emulation.

“These days we come into positions and we think that it is for ourselves, for our families, and that is all,” he said.

“I pray that we will learn of these from this son of ours.”

His children were grateful his life impacted Ghana in positive ways.

Prof Botchwey was Ghana’s longest-serving Finance Minister, serving from his role as the Finance Secretary of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) to Finance Minister in 1995.

He had held various positions in the NDC and his report after the 2016 sudden loss of the party to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has guided the party to reorganise and restructure to reclaim power.

“He was a revolutionary as well as a democrat because he deepened internal democracy in our party,” NDC National Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketia described to TV3‘s Evelyn Tengmaa.

“He was the first person to stand up, presented himself to break the jinx of sole presidential candidates in NDC and it was a big victory.”

Friend Prof Kwesi Yankah was full of praise for the economic acumen of the deceased economist.

“Let any economic issue come up and Kwesi will go into the streets, into market places, into various villages and towns and speak all the languages in the same way he has spoken the English.”

Source: 3news.com