President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s expression of confidence in the integrity of the immediate past Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, has received diverse response from the public.
“I am confident, like you, that, at the end of the day, your integrity, whilst in office, will be fully established. I wish you the very best in all your endeavours,” President Akufo-Addo stated in his acceptance letter in response to madam Dapaah’s resignation letter.
While some have said it was wrong and a mistake for President Akufo-Addo to have stated that in his response letter, a political Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr Osei Asante, is of the view that President Akufo-Addo did not err in expressing his optimism that the resigned Sanitation Minister will come clean over corruption accusations.
She resigned from her position on Saturday [July 22] after she became the talk of town following media report on a court case that stated that two house helps were standing trial for allegedly stealing huge sums of foreign and local currencies from her residence in Accra.
The Minister in her resignation letter said she decided to step down because she did not want “this matter to become a preoccupation of government and a hindrance to the work of government at such a crucial time.”
The two house helps, Patience Botwe, 18, and Sarah Agyei,30, along with three others are alleged to have stolen US$1 million, €300,000, and millions of Ghanaian cedis and personal effects of Abena Dapaah and her husband, between the months of July and October in 2022.
Madam Dapaah has indicated that there are inconsistencies in the figures being reported in the media.
However, in responding to Madam Dapaah’s resignation letter, President Akufo-Addo said “I am confident, like you, that, at the end of the day, your integrity, whilst in office, will be fully established. I wish you the very best in all your endeavours.”
He also said, “It is with considerable regret that I accept your resignation, and I applaud your loyalty to the image and standing of the government.
“The work you undertook during your period in government was excellent and productive, and I thank you for your wholehearted contribution and devotion to the progress of the government and the nation,” he stated.
Following President’s Akufo-Addo’s letter, many have reacted to the Presdent’s response, with some describing the content of the letter as prejudicial.
Some believe that the President’s comments will not allow state institutions mandated to carry out investigation to do their work as expected because the President had already expressed optimism that the Minister will come out clean.
However, speaking on the issue in a radio interview on Accra-based Joy FM on Monday [July 24, 2024,] Dr. Asante said such a comment was expected from the President as he is the one who appointed the Minister.
“I don’t see anything wrong with what the President said,” he said, describing the President’s comment as an “ordinary statement.”
For him, what the President said will not in any way compromise any investigation into the issue.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Special Prosecutor has arrested Mrs Abena Dapaah over corruption related offences.
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