President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has paid tribute to the late Prof. Kwesi Botchwey, a former Minister of Finance who passed away last Saturday at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital after a short illness.

The President described Dr Botchwey, 78, as a longstanding public servant who discharged his duties thoughtfully and with dignity.

President Akufo-Addo made these remarks when the family of the former finance minister called on him at the Jubilee House in Ac-cra to officially announce the death of Prof. Botchwey.

Prof. Botchwey was appointed by the late Jerry John Rawlings to lead efforts in stabilising the coun-try's collapsed economy from 1982 to 1993 under the Provisional Na-tional Defence Council (PNDC).

He was re-appointed as Minister of Finance in January 1993 when Ghana returned to democratic governance till 1995.

President Akufo-Addo ex-pressed condolences to the family of Prof. Botchwey, adding that his personal relationship with the late finance minister, which began in the mid-60s, was nurtured by their shared interest in national and political issues in the country.

"I found it easy to talk to him and exchange ideas. He was a very dedicated, honest and distin-guished Ghanaian," he said

He said Prof. Botchwey was appointed to serve the nation at a very difficult economic period, indicating that the late finance minister discharged his duties with dignity and diligence.

He appealed to the family to consult the Office of the Chief of Staff when planning Prof. Botchwey's funeral so that the state could contribute meaningfully to give the late statesman a befitting burial.

The family of the late Prof. Botchwey is yet to set a date for his burial and funeral.

Born on September 3, 1994, the late Prof. Botchwey was one of the bigwigs of the National Demo-cratic Congress and a Professor of Development Economics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplo-macy at Tufts University.