Outgoing Manager of State Housing Company Limited, Dr. Samuel Sarpong, has praised President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for being magnanimous and allowing the likes of him to serve until his retirement was due.

Unlike other people whose bowing out of public service has been fraught with lots of controversies, Dr. Sarpong shocked a congregation of worshipers at the Fourth Garrison Methodist Church in Kumasi when he commended and thanked the president for ‘being magnanimous to me till now.”

“I was hugely surprised that despite calls from both the NDC and the NPP members for me to be hauled out of office, the president said I was a nice gentleman and so needed to be given the opportunity to finish my service,” Dr. Sarpong recounted with tears.

According to him, what the president did was rare in the history of Ghana and hoped that partisan politics was removed from public service.

This, he believed, would ensure public workers work frantically for the development of the country without being looked on with suspicion.

Dr. Sarpong, who served as the Kumasi Metro Chief Executive and Regional Minister for Ashanti and Central Regions during the late Prof. Mills and John Mahama administrations, also thanked former Presidents—Jerry John Rawlings, John Kufuor, late Prof. Mills and John Mahama—for their assistance to him over the years.

The hardworking former minister and his family were at the Fourth Garrison Methodist Church to thank God for a successful service to the country over the years.

He began his accumulated leave last month pending his final retirement which is due in November 2017.

He recounted how God had guided him through the tortuous path of public service for over four decades.

He recalled the difficult situations he faced while serving as the Ashanti regional minister but noted that the experience had shaped him up to become a better person.

The lessons and experiences during his long service, he noted, had helped him to adapt to all situations and hoped it will do same for him even in his retirement.

Dr. Sarpong asked Ghanaians to see successive governments as their own and do their bit to help it succeed so that all can feel part of the country’s development.

He later made a donation of wax prints to widows at the church and promised to ensure their upkeep.

A foundation to be used for their welfare was also inaugurated.