Former Agriculture Minister, Joseph Henry Owusu-Acheampong, who died in June this year was on Saturday, September 2,2017, given a befitting state burial at Biadan in the Berekum municipality.
The funeral of the former three time MP for the then Berekum constituency saw astute political figures including President Akufo-Addo throng to Berekum to mourn with his family.
Politicians like Majority leader Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, Agric Minister Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Minister of Employment and Labour Relations Ignatius Baffour Awuah, NDC's General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, former Accra mayor Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, former Sports minister Edwin Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, as well as some renowned Chiefs in the region came to bid him farewell.
The chiefs paid tribute to the former Agriculture minister for his relentless efforts toward the unity of the chiefs.
Majority leader in Parliament, Hon Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, noted that since Mr Owusu-Acheampong was a great asset to the country, the house had to unite to honour him.
Former President Jerry John Rawlings, under whom the deceased held three ministerial positions, had earlier referred to him as a "proper" person who liked things to be done as exact as possible and got impatient when things were not done in an orderly manner.
The 76-year-old former boss of ADB was first elected to Parliament to represent the Berekum constituency in 1979 under the ticket of the Popular Front Party(PFP) now the NPP, and again from 1992 to 2000 under the National Democratic Congress(NDC) where he became the Majority leader and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs.
He also served as the Brong Ahafo Regional Secretary in 1988 under the PNDC government and eventually became the Agriculture Minister.
Apart from being the campaign manager for the late Prof. JEA Mills in 2008, the late Owusu-Acheampong was a member of the Council of Elders of the NDC.
He was also the Brong Ahafo Region's representative on the Council of State from 2009- 2013.
Achievements
Mr J.H Owusu-Acheampong achieved a lot in academia and also in the political space.
He is said to have started the Mass Cocoa spraying programme when he was the Agric minister.
The Brong Ahafo Region was connected to the national grid during his time as the Brong Ahafo Regional Secretary. At the same period, the Sunyani-Berekum highway was asphalted as well as the dual carriage road in Berekum.
Mr Owusu-Acheampong is also credited with initiating the construction of the Kumasi - Dormaa Highway.
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