President Akufo-Addo expected to release deputy ministers list today

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, barring any last-minute changes, will release the list of deputy ministers-designate as he moves to complete the formation of his second-term ministerial appointments.

The Office of the President is poised to release the list after Akufo-Addo completed his consultations with all his substantive ministers on their deputies as required by Article 79 (1) of the 1992 constitution, which states: “The President may, in consultation with a Minister of State, and with prior approval of Parliament, appoint one or more Deputy Minsters to assist the Minister in the performance of his functions.”

Speculation has been rife about who President Akufo-Addo is likely to appoint as a deputy minister. Information available to Asaase News from our source at the Office of the President shows that the Ministries of Energy and Finance are the only departments that will have three deputy ministers to support the substantive ministers to execute government agenda.

Our sources reveal that Charles Adu-Boahen and Abena Osei Asare, who both served as deputies to Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister for Finance, will maintain their posts.

The president will appoint a third person to make the number of deputy finance ministers three. Kwaku Kwarteng, a former deputy minister of finance, will now be the chairman of the finance committee in Parliament.

Energy, which is considered as one of the most important sectors of the Ghanaian economy, will have Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer, the MP for Sekondi, as one of three deputies assisting the sector minister, Matthew Poku Prempeh.

Hot ticket

The Ministry of Information is expected to have two deputy ministerial positions and Fatimatu Abubakar, the current deputy director of communications in the Office of the President, is tipped to be one of the two deputies who will be working with the substantive Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.

One of the most highly anticipated appointments is that of Diana Asonaba Dapaah. It is expected she will become one of two deputy ministers of justice and deputy attorneys general to assist Godfred Yeboah Dame.

Diana Asonaba Dapaah is a lawyer called to the Bar in both Ghana and New York. She is also the current vice-president of the Ghana Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Hub. She is expected to complement the Attorney General with her strengths in civil litigation and corporate law.

Ms Dapaah is a lecturer in law at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, where she teaches alternative dispute resolution (ADR), corporate law and governance, as well as public international law, human rights and company ;aw.

She is a World Bank-certified trainer in corporate governance, human rights and ADR and has trained lawyers and judges in Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Her areas of research include ADR, corporate law and governance and human rights. She is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Vetting procedure

Overall, President Akufo-Addo’s list of deputy ministers is expected to have more women compared to that of the list of substantive ministers.

The appointments committee of Parliament will be required to vet all of the president’s nominees before they are sworn into office.

Even though Parliament is on recess, the appointments committee is expected to resume work ahead of the next meeting of Parliament to vet the proposed list of deputy ministers.

Wilberforce Asare / Asaase Radio

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