Business mogul, Sir Sam Jonah, has categorically dismissed speculation that he is in the running race to become former President John Mahama’s running mate for the 2024 elections.
The former Ashanti Goldfields Company Limited boss says he is not interested.
In a statement to Metro TV’s ‘Good Evening Ghana’ he said, “Anyone who knows me well will attest to the fact that I have no interest whatsoever in going into the murky world of politics.”
He disclosed how he turned down offers to be Vice President under former President Jerry John Rawlings in the 90s.
“As a matter of fact, if I was interested, I would have been Vice President in 1992 and 1996 when I was offered the position on a silver platter,” he explained.
Some media outlets have speculated that Mr Jonah will be the NDC flagbearer Mr Mahama’s running mate, but he has described it as “worthless speculation.”
Mr Jonah is celebrated the world over as a global business icon. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Ashanti Goldfields Company Limited in 1986 and oversaw its growth from a one-mine operation into a multinational operation.
In 1996, Ashanti Gold, which had listings in London and Ghana, became the first operating African company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
He became Executive President of AngloGold Ashanti Ltd (the world’s second-largest gold producer) in May 2004 when Ashanti was merged with AngloGold Limited.
In 2003, Queen Elizabeth II and Head of the Commonwealth conferred on him an Honorary Knighthood as Knight Commander of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE).
In 2006, he was awarded Ghana’s highest national award, the Companion of the Order of the Star.
In December 2004, CNN and Time Magazine ranked him as one of the world’s top 25 most influential business people, setting global standards for management, ethics, marketing, and innovation.
He is the recipient of five Lifetime Achievement awards, the most recent being the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award.
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