Search for new Water Minister …as Auntie Ceci steps down

Following the resignation of Cecilia Abena Dapaah as the minister of sanitation and water resources, President Akufo-Addo is expected to appoint a substantive new minister.

The portfolio is expected to go to a serving minister, who would not struggle to step into Ms Dapaah’s shoes and can also avoid the requirement of vetting by the appointments committee of Parliament.

A source privy to the search for a successor said the first name that popped up is Francis Asenso-Boakye, the current Minister of Works and Housing.

A choice of Asenso-Boakye to replace Ms Dapaah may mean the Ministry of Works and Housing merges with Sanitation and Water Resources. The president could also choose to assign Asenso-Boakye to the vacant ministry in an acting capacity until a substantive minister is appointed.

Dr Freda Prempeh, currently at the Ministry of Works and Housing, is also a potential replacement. She previously served as the deputy minister of sanitation and water when the brief was under the Ministry of Works and Housing. She is a minister of state and so, she will avoid vetting should she be chosen for the role.

The name of O.B. Amoah who is currently the minister of state at the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, has also come up strongly for the job.

The Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, could be another convenient choice to replace Ms Dapaah. His selection would automatically initiate a reshuffle of the leadership of the governing party in Parliament. If appointed to the position of Sanitation and Water Resources Minister, the Majority Leader will similarly not need to be vetted by the appointments committee, as he is already a minister of state.

His appointment would trigger the elevation of the current deputy Majority leader in Parliament, Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, to the role of substantive Majority Leader of the House.

President Akufo-Addo could also take advantage of this to collapse the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs altogether and reduce the number of ministerial portfolios under his government by one.

The name of the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, one of the most highly regarded regional ministers in the Akufo-Addo government, has also come up for consideration as Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources.

The opening created by Ms Dapaah’s departure could be a chance to bring Quartey into the cabinet.

Asaase News sources within the government say that, of all the names that have been tabled for consideration, the smart money is on Freda Prempeh for the job.

 

By Wilberforce Asare, Asaase Radio