It is a tradition not only for Ghana but for many countries in the world to establish foundations in honour of the legacy and achievement of past presidents. These foundations are mostly set up by the government or political parties of the presidents in collaboration with some stakeholders in the country.
For example, past President of the United State, Barack Obama has the Obama Foundation and President George W. Bush has the Bush foundation. In Ghana, ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor has the John A. Kufuor Foundation, ex-President Rawlings has the JJ Rawlings Foundation.
Aside from honouring the legacy of past presidents, these foundations are also set to achieve certain goals that these past presidents consider to be very important.
For some reason, Prof Atta Mills despite his ability to bring people together has ended up with two foundations which all claim to honour his legacy, the Atta Mills Institute and the John Evans Atta Mills Memorial Heritage. Perhaps this might not be happening should Prof Mills be alive.
As we approach the 10th year of the death of Prof Mill both organisations have outlined a series of activities to honour the late president. Let us take a look at the two foundations with details about them.
Atta-Mills Institute:
The first foundation set up to honour Atta-Mills was the Atta-Mills Institute and it was set up by former Presidential Aide and the former General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Koku Anyidoho.
Koku Anyidoho, who is also Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Atta-Mills Institute, set up the foundation in 2019 without any involvement of the NDC. He claims that he set up the foundation because former President John Dramani Mahama and NDC failed to hour the Late Atta Mills. He also said that Mahama failed to develop the 'Asomdwoe' park where the late Atta Mills has been buried.
The institute aims to promote research, learning, and information dissemination anchored to the ideas and ideals that defined the human existence of John Evans Atta-Mills.
John Evans Atta Mills Memorial Heritage
The John Evans Atta Mills Memorial Heritage was established on February 2, 2022, by a group of academics, friends, family members and former government appointees who worked with Prof Mills. This foundation appears to have the support of the NDC and the family of Atta Mills.
The John Evans Atta Mills Memorial Heritage is led by a board comprising Dr. Sherry Ayittey, Sammy Atta Mills (the brother of Prof Mill), Siisi Quainoo, Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, Chief Executive Officer and Board Secretary and Alex Percival Segbefia, former Minister of Health, as chairman, also mains to inculcate the values and principles that President John Evans Atta Mills stood for in the Ghanaian society.
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The late former President John Evans Atta Mills