Political life
Dapaah was a development worker by profession [1] and a special assistant to President John Kufour. [4] In 2001,she was appointed the chairperson of the Board of Ghana Cocoa Processing Company. She was moved from the board in 2005,and made the deputy Minister for Water Resources,Works and Housing. In 2007,she was made a substantive minister till the end of the John Kufour administration in 2008.
Cecilia Dapaah was a member of the Parliament of Ghana from 2005 to 2013. She served on various parliamentary committees in Ghana including Works and Housing;Advisory Committee to the Speaker of the Parliament;Employment,Social welfare and Youth;Foreign Affairs;and Special Budget. [3]
Minister for Aviation
On 7 January 2017,President Akuffo-Addo nominated her for the position of Minister of Aviation. [13] [14] She was vetted by the Appointments Committee of the Parliament of Ghana on 8 February 2017. [14] [15] During her vetting,she testified that she would improve the aviation industry in Ghana,and that her priority was to restart a national carrier by 2019. [14] [16] [17] She was of the view that the unavailability of the carrier was depriving Ghana of several millions of cedis in revenue. [14] The last national carrier was Ghana International Airlines,which collapsed in 2010. [15] In March 2017,she announced that Ghana was progressing with its desire to become the aviation hub of the West African region. [18]
Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources
Dapaah was moved to the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources in 2018. [3] She was made caretaker Minister for Gender,Children and Social Protection for a year (2021–2022). [3] She served in her role as Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources before resigning in July 22,2023,due to an alleged scandal involving the stealing of $1,000,000,€300,000 and Millions in local currency by her house helps from her bedroom. [19] [20] [21] [22]
Controversy
According to a press statement released by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP),Dapaah was taken into custody on Monday,July 24,2023,at 11:55 GMT. The arrest was connected to alleged corruption and corruption-related activities involving substantial sums of money and valuable items,which were reportedly stolen from her residence in 2022 by two of her domestic workers. [23] [24] [25]
One Madam Hannah Fosua,said to be the wife of a former driver of the Minister claimed her husband lost his job working for Ms Dapaah because he drew attention to the behaviour of the accused persons. [26]
Andy Appiah-Kubi,the Member of Parliament for Asante-Akim North suggested on TV3 that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo should have kept his comments about the innocence or otherwise of the Minister to himself. [27]
In September 2023,the Accra High Court ordered the Office of the Special Prosecutor to unfreeze and return the money in her bank accounts. [28] The office obeyed the directive but later froze her bank account again and her investments. The office returned her seized cash amounts. [29]
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