J.J. Rawlings: P.V. Obeng was one of the best govt functionaries

Former President Jerry John Rawlings has eulogised Mr P.V. Obeng describing him as one of the best government officials who gave so much of his energy and strength in helping his administration to find solutions to problems in some of the most trying times in the nation’s history.

Speaking at the residence of the late Obeng, where he had gone to commiserate with the widow and family, former President Rawlings said the country had  found itself in the woods once again.

“You remember me last year saying that this country was entering a dark tunnel. I believe this will have been the time we will require the minds and brains like his again but unfortunately he is no more. 

“How much deficit or solution on account of his absence is what I am not too sure of but what I do know is had he been around, we would have found the most appropriate solutions to our problems,” Mr Rawlings said.

Mr Obeng served as the Chairman of the Committee of Secretaries under Rawlings’s Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) regime from 1982 to 1992. 

The former president was accompanied by his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, his special aide, Kofi Adams, and other staffers.

From 1992 to 1997,  Mr Rawlings also appointed Mr Obeng as Presidential Adviser on Governmental Affairs under the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

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Mr Rawlings noted that Mr Obeng could have attained the very best in his working life. However, “much as he, Mr Obeng, carried his big pen in one hand, I know he also carried the monkey wrench in the other hand. It is most unfortunate that he was one of those who advised  President Mills not to investigate the misdeeds and the atrocities that took place before the NDC came back to power”.

The former president said had those investigations happened to ensure justice, the history of the country would have been different.

“Nonetheless, that does not take away from how good he was. As to whether he was right or wrong, I guess that will be left to the judgement of history. All that said and done, I still believe that his good sides far outweigh his mistakes.”

Former President Rawlings advised Ghanaians, irrespective of where they found themselves, to do a little more than they had done in the past to achieve the kind of standard that people like Mr Obeng had left behind.

He said although Mr Obeng wielded so much power, he never carried himself around as such but was rather humble and was always out to help his ministers. “Every morning, he would move from ministry to ministry helping them before he gets to office. PV’s death is really painful, he is rare, we don’t have much of his type in the system.”

He consoled the family and assured them of his support during the funeral and burial rites.

Other dignitaries

Also at the residence of the deceased was the flag bearer of the PNC in 2012 elections, Mr Hassan Ayarigah, who also hailed Mr Obeng as a gentleman and a man of peace.

He said though dead, Mr Obeng could posthumously be honoured as Man of the Year for 2013/2014 for his style of politics and maturity in dealing with diverse groups of people.

Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, a former Minister of Finance, described the late Obeng as one person who positively influenced Ghana’s relationship with the World Bank  and the International Monetary Fund.

“Ghana’s relationship with the World Bank and IMF in the early 80’s was made possible through Mr Obeng when the PNDC was not too comfortable dealing with the Bretton Woods institutions. I will miss him for his wise counsel,” he said.

The Akwamuhene, Odeneho Kwafo Akoto III, said Ghana had really missed a gem whose wise counsel to government helped the nation.