Alan Kyerematen, a former Minister of Trade and Industry and an aspirant for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer position, has claimed that Ghana could have avoided seeking assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) if his ideas had been taken seriously and implemented.

During his tour of the Greater Accra region to meet with delegates, Kyerematen highlighted the President's Special Initiatives (PSI) introduced during the administration of John Agyekum Kufour as a transformative concept that could have changed Ghana's economic trajectory if embraced by the nation.

Expressing a sense of regret, Kyerematen stated, “The amount of work I have done for this country, sometimes I even feel ashamed talking about it.”

He further emphasized, “In President Kufuor's era, I was one of the senior ministers. I brought PSI (The President's Special Initiatives), and if Ghanaians had listened to me, today Ghana wouldn't have gone to the IMF.”

Kyerematen emphasized his role in introducing the President's Special Initiatives during President Kufuor's administration and suggested that had Ghanaians embraced his ideas, the country would not have had to seek assistance from the IMF.

The NPP government described the strategic intent of the PSIs as moving Ghana's economy beyond HIPC (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries) status and reducing the country's reliance on aid, donor support, and a few commodity exports by identifying new pillars of growth.

As of Thursday, June 1, 2023, a total of 10 NPP presidential aspirants had obtained nomination forms and paid a non-refundable fee of GH¢50,000.