Hon. Yaw Osafo-Maafo | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament for Akim Oda [1] | |
In office 7 January 1997 –7 January 2009 | |
Preceded by | Nana Boaten-Abora |
Succeeded by | Yaw Owusu-Boateng |
Majority | 23,461 |
Senior Minister | |
Assumed office 21 January 2017 | |
Minister for Finance and Economic Planning | |
In office February 2001 –7 January 2005 | |
Succeeded by | Kwadwo Baah Wiredu |
Minister for Education and Sports | |
In office February 2005 –April 2006 | |
President | John Kufuor |
Preceded by | Kwadwo Baah Wiredu |
Succeeded by | Papa Owusu-Ankomah |
Personal details | |
Nationality | Ghanaian |
Political party | New Patriotic Party |
Profession | Banker,Consultant &Politician |
Yaw Osafo-Maafo is a Ghanaian politician who was appointed in April as the senior presidential advisor to the Akufo-Addo Administration 2021. He was Senior Minister in the Akufo-Addo Administration from 2017 to 2021. He was Member of Parliament for Akim Oda from 1997 to 2009,and previously served as Finance Minister and in other cabinet roles in the Kufuor Administration between 2001 and 2009. [2]
Yaw Osafo-Maafo was born in Akyem Awisa in 1936. He attended Akyem Awisa Presbyterian School and Achimota School. [3] He went on to study Mechanical Engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST),Ghana. At KNUST,he was the Vice President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS).
He joined the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) as an engineer and rose through the ranks to become the CEO. [4]
Osafo-Maafo established his credentials in the banking and finance sector by heading and successfully restructuring two major Ghanaian banks,the Bank for Housing and Construction,and the National Investment Bank between 1979 and 1992.
He has Consulted for the World Bank,the African Development Bank and the United Nations Development Programme. He is the past vice-president of the executive committee of the West African Bankers' Association,and a founding Deputy Chairman of the Ghana Stock Exchange.
He has served as chairman and a board member on a number of corporations including Nestle Ghana Limited,National Trust Holding Company,Merchant Bank Ghana Limited,National Development Planning Commission,Divestiture Implementation Committee and Donewell Insurance. He stepped down after serving as a Member of Parliament for Akim Oda Constituency in the Eastern Region of Ghana,for three terms. He is a fellow of the Ghana Institution of Engineers and an Honorary Fellow of the Ghana Institute of Architects.
He is a former Member of Parliament for Akim Oda,Ghana.
He was appointed Minister of Finance in February 2001 and later Minister of Finance and Economic Planning during the Kufuor Administration. [5] He held this position until January 2005. At the Ministry of Finance he oversaw the dramatic turnaround of the Ghanaian economy. [6] In November 2001,he was named Finance Minister of the year with his Canadian counterpart Paul Martin by the World Economic Forum and Finance Minister of the year 2001,Africa,by Banker Magazine,a Financial Times publication.
Between 2005 and 2006 he was Minister of Education and Sports,where he commenced the implementation of major education sector reforms aimed at improving the quality of basic,secondary and tertiary education. The reforms also sought to align the education system with the needs of the broader economy. He implemented the new free basic education referred to as the Capitation Grant.
With respect to sports,his reorganization and restructuring of the finances and management of football in the country played a significant part in helping Ghana qualify for the 2006 World Cup. This was the first time Ghana had done so in her history.
Marfo was first elected into Parliament on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party during the December 1996 Ghanaian General Elections for the Akim Oda Constituency in the Eastern Region of Ghana. He polled 26,685 votes out of the 44,794 valid votes cast representing 48.80% over his opponents Boateng Abora who polled 16,984 votes,Yaw Frempong Awuku who polled 750 votes,Willie De-Graft Sakyi who polled 375 votes,Samuel Daves-Adjepong who polled 0 vote. [7] In the 2000 Ghanaian General Elections,he polled 25,709 votes out of the 41,950 valid votes cast representing 61.30% over his opponents Kojo Atta-Krah an NDC member who polled 14,766 votes representing 35.20%,George Ntiamoah an IND member who polled 687 votes representing 1.60%,Abor Mensa a CPP member who polled 342 votes representing 0.80%,Sarkodie Kwame Peter a NRP member who polled 224 votes representing 0.50% and Adamu Salifu Yahuza a PNC member who polled 222 votes representing 0.50%. [8] He was re-elected in 2004 with 36,729 votes out of the 50,734 valid votes cast representing 72.40% over his opponents Kwasi Nkansah Amaniapong who polled 13,268 votes,Adamu Salifu Yahuza a PNC member who polled 386 votes and Abora Mensah who also polled 351 votes. [9]
Although no longer serving in the government,Osafo-Maafo campaigned for the New Patriotic Party in the 2008 runoff elections. [10]
Osafo-Maafo in more recent times worked as a consultant for the World Bank advising the Ministry of Finance and the Legislature of the government of Liberia.
Since leaving the government,he has been critical of Ghana's government on issues such as the salaries paid to government officials and the proposed sale of Achimota Forest. [11] [12]
He has also been very critical of the government's handling of the economy,the country's increasing debt burden and the depreciating currency.
In February 2015, a secret audio tape capturing a male voice resembling that of Osafo-Maafo expressing ethnocentric comments in the Asante dialect went viral in the media and on the internet. The recording was done during a meeting between the former Finance Minister and the New Patriotic Party's Council of Elders in the Eastern region of Ghana. The voice bemoaned why Ghana's' resources are benefited also by regions that have little or no resources. [13]
"You have all the resources, but you have no say in the management of your resources, and that is what is happening. Your development depends on the one who has no resources" the voice said. The comments are thought to have been directed toward Northerners and President John Dramani Mahama in particular who is a Gonja by tribe. He cautioned that such sentiments should not be said in public "You can’t say this openly, We should not", but added that "Council members are at liberty to talk about it only among Asantes". [14]
In his defense, Osafo-Maafo told the media "he remembers speaking at a forum not too long ago but doubts if the alleged content of the tape is representative of all that he said there." [15]
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is a Ghanaian politician who has served as the president of Ghana since 2017. He previously served as Attorney General from 2001 to 2003 and as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2007 under the Kufuor-led administration.
Kwame Addo-Kufuor is a Ghanaian politician and physician. He is the chancellor of Kumasi Technical University. Addo-Kufuor was a member of parliament for Manhyia and from 2001 to 2007, he was the Minister for Defence under President John Kufuor, his brother. Between June 2008 and 2009, he was the Minister for Interior.
Joseph Henry Mensah was a Ghanaian politician and economist.
Kobina Tahir Hammond, known as K.T. Hammond, is a Ghanaian politician and a member of the New Patriotic Party. He is the Member of Parliament for Adansi-Asokwa constituency in the Ashanti Region. He is also the Minister of Trade and Industries. Hammond, who first entered Parliament in the year 2001 is currently serving his sixth term.
Maxwell Kofi Jumah is a Ghanaian politician and a former Mayor of Kumasi, former Member of Parliament for the Asokwa Constituency in the Ashanti Region.
Ursula Owusu-Ekuful is a Ghanaian lawyer, women's rights activist, and a politician who has been actively involved in politics and public service. She is the member of Parliament for Ablekuma West Constituency in the Greater Accra Region. She is currently the Minister of Communications and Digitalisation.
Abena Osei-Asare is a Chartered Accountant, Ghanaian politician and currently a Member of Parliament for Atiwa East in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
Akosua Frema Osei-Opare is a development practitioner, an academic, and a Ghanaian politician. Having spent 40 years in these domains, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, is an expert in labour and hiring as well as development consulting. She represented Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency in the Parliament of Ghana. She is the current and first female Chief of Staff of Ghana.
Anthony Akoto Osei was a Ghanaian banker and politician. Osei was in the cabinet of President John Agyekum Kufuor first as Minister of State for Finance and Economic Planning and then Acting Minister of Finance. He was a member of Parliament for the electoral district of Old Tafo in the Ashanti region.
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo took office as Ghana's president on 7 January 2017 after winning the December 2016 presidential elections. A number of controversies have arisen under his administration.
Catherine Ablema Afeku is a Ghanaian politician. She is a member of the New Patriotic Party and the Member of Parliament for the Evalue Gwira Constituency in the Western Region. She was a cabinet minister in the Nana Akuffo-Addo administration and served as the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts of Ghana from February 2017 to February 2019.
Samuel Atta Akyea is a Ghanaian lawyer, politician and a member of the New Patriotic Party. He was the Minister for Works and Housing from 2017 until January 2021. He is the Member of Parliament of Akim Abuakwa South constituency in the Eastern Region. He is the second person aside Nana Akufo-Addo to be elected as MP for that constituency in the 4th republic.
Vincent Sowah Odotei is a Ghanaian politician and the Member of Parliament of La Dadekotopon in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. He is a member of the New Patriotic Party was the deputy minister for communications in Ghana until his appointment was terminated on April 6, 2020, by President Nana Akufo-Addo.
William Agyapong Quaitoo is a Ghanaian politician. He served as a member of parliament for Akim Oda Constituency, Eastern Region in the 7th Parliament. He was appointed Deputy Minister of Agriculture in 2013. He is the Chief executive officer of the Tree Crops Development Authority.
Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi is a Ghanaian politician and member of the Seventh Parliament and 8th Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, representing the Asante-Akim North Constituency in the Ashanti Region on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party.
Frimpong Yaw Addo is a Ghanaian politician and member of the Seventh Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana and Eight parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana representing the Manso Adubia constituency in the Ashanti Region on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). He is currently the Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture.
Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum is a Ghanaian politician and member of the eighth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, representing the Bosomtwe Constituency in the Ashanti Region on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party. On 5 March 2021, Adutwum was appointed by President Nana Akufo-Addo as the Minister of Education in Ghana.He is noted for his unannounced visits to schools as means to effective monitoring and supervision.
Kennedy Osei Nyarko is a Ghanaian politician. He was elected member of parliament in 2016 representing Akim Swedru. In November 2017, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Agriculture in the Republic of Ghana.
Yaw Baning-Darko is a Ghanaian politician and a member of the Second Parliament of the Fourth Republic representing the Atiwa Constituency in the Eastern region of Ghana.
Nana Boaten-Abora is a Ghanaian politician and member of the first parliament of the fourth republic of Ghana representing Akyem Oda constituency under the membership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC)