Former Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has taken over as Works and Housing Minister leaving a legacy of unaddressed government scandals hanging.
During his tenure as Information Minister, several scandals hit the government of Ghana making the government unpopular.
The Information Minister mostly kept mute as the scandals raged on affecting the reputation of the government. On some occasions, the minister selectively engaged media houses leading to criticism of his style.
Succeeding Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Fatima Abubakar who has been vetted and yet to be approved to commence work.
Cecilia Dapaah Millions Scandals
The last scandal to rock government before the exit of Kojo Oppong Nkrumah was about former Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources Cecilia Dapaah who hoarded millions at home.
The Information Ministry was literally helpless as the scandal rocked government for several weeks.
Abena Dapaah was arrested by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) after the reported theft of $1m (£780,000) cash from her house along with €300,000 and several million Ghana cedis, as well as some personal items from her home.
It is alleged that between July and October 2022, two house helpers, 18-year-old Patience Botwe and 30-year-old Sarah Agyei, and three others reportedly stole $1 million, €300,000, and millions of Ghanaian cedis from Madam Dapaah and her husband.
The former minister, on the other hand, disputes the amounts indicated on prosecution charge sheets as stolen in total, claiming they are inconsistent with what she reported to police.
Serwaa Broni scandal
The Serwaa Broni scandal hit after the said lady claimed President Nana Addo has been hitting on her since 2019 wanting to go in bed with her but she has on countless occasions turned down the advances.
The then Information Minister and his team were out of coverage area.
Serwaa Broni recounts that she is friends with a lot of bigwigs of the ruling New Patriotic Party for several years.
The lady in question has pictures with the President in a private jet which circulated on social media
She claims since then her troubles started, as she has been threatened by some NPP bigwigs with Hopeson Adorye the barking dog.
Galamsey Information Minister
A former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation and ex-chair of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng shared a video of illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) site allegedly linked to the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.
It caused the government embarrassment and disappointment.
In a report, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah was indicted by the former minister of alleged involvement in mining activities.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng shared a video evidence responding to the then information minister’s reactions to a report on government officials behind galamsey in Ghana he (Frimpong Boateng) released.
Boateng said he received the video from a constituent of Oppong Nkrumah, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ofoase-Ayirebi constituency.
The former science and technology minister said that even though he does not want to believe the claim made in the video about the ownership of the galamsey site, Oppong Nkrumah must take the necessary actions to stop the menace happening close to his hometown.
The man who recorded the video can be heard alleging that the galamsey site belongs to Oppong Nkrumah and he (the minister) has hired some Chinese people to work for him.
He said that the illegal mining site was in Akyem Brenasi, along the Pra River.
“He (Oppong Nkrumah) has brought the Chinese here to work for him. This is what they have done to the Pra River,” the man said as he was taking a shot of the river.
“This place is called Akyem Brenasi, along the Pra River, there are about 15 excavators here,” the narrator added in Twi.
