K. Y. Amoako

Kingsley Y. Amoako (born 1944 Accra) is a Ghanaian international civil servant with a career spanning more than four decades, who has contributed with energy to Africa’s ongoing development. He is a respected thought leader on policies and initiatives that have led to improved governance and growth on the continent, and he has worked alongside prominent development specialists to tackle the most pressing African and global development issues.

Early career

After obtaining a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California-Berkeley in 1974, Amoako began his career at the World Bank. At the time, the Bank employed very few Africans, but it impacted much of the continent’s destiny through lending policies that were not always favorable to Africa. Amoako became Division Chief for Country Programs in the Africa Region and also Division Chief for Sector Programs in the Latin America and Caribbean Region. Over a ten-year period, he helped improve Bank operations in several countries.

In the early 1990s, the Bank began to shift its focus by placing greater emphasis on poverty reduction and underserved but vital economic and social development issues, such as gender equality. To provide intellectual leadership in these areas, guide operational staff at the country-level, and collaborate more effectively with United Nations agencies and other development institutions, the Bank created the Department of Education and Social Policy in 1992. Amoako was appointed its first director. He led a group of 40 economists and sector specialists in producing major Bank policy papers on poverty, gender, social protection, labor markets, and education that were endorsed by the World Bank’s Executive Directors.

UN career

In 1995, then UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali appointed Amoako as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) at the level of Under-Secretary General.[1] He gave Amoako a mandate to transform the institution into an influential voice for Africa and an effective player in global development. Amoako’s appointment came at a critical time for Africa. After decades of economic stagnation, civil unrest, and political turmoil, there were indications that the continent’s fortunes could turn around with a stronger commitment to better governance and increased support from development partners. Unfortunately, the ECA, which boasted a rich history as a top African institution, was not in a position to meet its mandate due to years of ineffective operations. Within two years of his appointment, Amoako implemented sweeping reforms to remake the institution. Boutros-Ghali later commended the ECA for being “at the vanguard of reform in the United Nations.”

At the African Center for Economic Transformation

In 2008, Amoako founded the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) based in Accra to help African governments transform their economies for sustained growth and poverty reduction.[2]

Over the past twenty years, Amoako has served on many high-level commissions and task forces with other development experts and leaders. These task forces and commissions have tackled Africa’s current and future challenges as well as global development issues. They include:

  • Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa[1]—Chaired by Amoako, the Commission was established in 2003 by Kofi Annan. The commission had a mandate to clarify the data on the impact of HIV/AIDS on state structures and economic development and to assist governments in consolidating the design and implementation of policies and programs to help govern the epidemic.
  • Commission for Africa—Set up in 2004 and chaired by then British Prime Minister Tony Blair to promote development in Africa, the commission published its report, “Our Common Interest,” in 2005. Many of the recommendations were taken up by the G8 at its summit in Gleneagles later that year, and in other commitments made to Africa.
  • Commission on Macroeconomics and Health[1]— The Commission on Macroeconomics and Health (CMH) was established by then WHO Director-General Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland in January 2000 to assess the contribution of health to global economic development. Prof. Jeffrey Sachs chaired the commission.
  • International Task Force on Global Public Goods[1]—Established in 2003 by the Swedish and French governments on the heels of the 2002 Monterrey International Conference on Financing for Development, the task force provided a definition of global public goods, identified global public goods critical for poverty reduction, and proposed recommendations to enhance their provision and financing.
  • Commission on Capital Flows to Africa—Jointly assembled in September 2002 by the Corporate Council on Africa and the Institute for International Economics and chaired by James A. Harmon, former chairman of the US Export-Import Bank, the Commission published a “Ten-Year Strategy for Increasing Capital Flows to Africa” to help boost capital and private sector investment from the United States.
  • High-Level Trade Experts Group[1]—Set up by David Cameron and Angela Merkel to revitalize the Doha Round of trade talks and lobby for strong political commitment during the Seoul G20 summit to liberalize trade, the group was led by Peter Sutherland, the former Director-General of the WTO, and Jagdish Bhagwati, a renowned professor of economics at Columbia University.

Speaking at a meeting of African finance ministers in 1997, Amoako declared himself “an optimist for Africa”.

Education

He completed his secondary education at the Ghana Secondary Technical School. He then obtained his B.A. (Hons) from the University of Ghana and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley.[1] In recognition of his contribution to Africa’s development, in 2003, he was awarded a Doctor of Laws degree, honoris causa, by the Addis Ababa University,[3] and a Doctor of Letters degree, honoris causa, by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, in May 2005.

Others

He delivered the lecture "Politics,Economics and the Future of Ghana" on the occasion of the 10th Anniversary Memorial Lecture of the late Oyeeman Wereko Ampem 11 organized and held by the University of Ghana with support from the John A. Kufuor Foundation and the Atta Mills Foundation. He was the Guest Speaker at the Ghana Secondary Technical School[4] Centenary Anniversary in October 2009.[5]

References
  1. "Former Executive Secretaries | United Nations Economic Commission for Africa". www.uneca.org. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  2. "K. Y. Amoako | ACET". African Center for Economic Transformation. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
  3. "K. Y. Amoako (biography)". United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
  4. "GSTS – Official Website of Ghana Secondary Technical School". Retrieved 2020-02-23.
  5. Gt. Dr. Amos Quaah’68 ’70, Gt. Dr. Tetteh Abbeyquaye ‘89 (2019). "110-year-old Ghana Secondary Technical School, GSTS; its history and alumni". CitinewsRoom. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
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