CEO of Kufour Foundation, Prof. Baffour Agyeman-Duah has said that he doubted the sustainability of the Ghana Beyond Aid policy from the onset.

According to him, when the Committee tasked to ensure its enforcement was announced, he felt that the people who were appointed lacked the technical knowledge for the sustainable implementation of the policy.

“When the President announced it, in my view, there was a tactical mistake. I recall the President constituting a certain group of people to work on it, including the Senior Minister at the time, Mr. Osafo-Maafo and others.  Once I heard the membership of the Committee, frankly, I just chuckled and said 'this government is not serious' he said.

He explained that, "if you are talking about Ghana Beyond Aid, it's such an inspiring, interesting, and heavy concept that requires people who can think."

President Akufo-Addo, in 2018 inaugurated the “Ghana Beyond Aid” Charter Committee to give substance to the Ghana Beyond Aid concept, as promised during the May Day Celebration in Kumasi.

Pursuant to this, the President said, the committee “will set out a charter which will present the true meaning, purpose and also the calendar of implementation that will allow the country to reach its goal.”     

The committee, chaired by Senior Minister Hon. Yaw Osafo-Maafo was inaugurated on Wednesday, June 13, 2018, at the seat of the presidency, Jubilee House.

The members of the Committee drawn from varying sectors of the governance structure included, at the time, the Minister for Finance, Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta; Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Hon. Ignatius Baffour Awuah, MP; Minister for Planning, Hon. Prof. Gyan Baffour, MP; and the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Hajia Alima Mahama, MP.

The rest were drawn from the Trades Union Congress, the Private Enterprise Foundation, the Ghana National Association of Teachers, as well as the Association of Ghana Industries.

Prof. Agyeman-Duah stressed that 'Ghana Beyond Aid' is a long-term process that requires the input of intellectuals who are as well, experts to ensure its sustainability.

“Ghana Beyond Aid is not a one-term event. It's a long process that needs proper structuring. You need an intellectual basis. What we call the philosophical basis, the practical basis which will mean technical people trying to figure out what to do (about the policy) in subsequent years," but according to him, to date, he is yet to see any policy document on the initiative.