APA – Accra (Ghana) President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of Ghana has accepted the resignation of the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources and member of his government, Mrs. Cecilia Abena Dapaah.
According to the statement signed by the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Mr. Eugene Bentum Arhin, the President applauded the minister’s loyalty to the image and standing of his Government and thanked her also for her wholehearted contribution and devotion to the progress of the Government and the country.
It added that the President also wished her the best in all her endeavours.
According to local media reports, the Minister resigned on Saturday from her position with immediate effect.
In her letter or resignation, the minister said: “Since yesterday, Friday, July 21, 2023, social and traditional media have been full of stories about a court case involving a theft that took place last year in the home I live with my husband and daughter. The stories sought to suggest that I own various huge sums of foreign currencies and millions of Ghana cedis which have been stolen from my home.
“Whereas I can state emphatically that those figures do not represent correctly what my husband and I reported to the Police, I am very much aware of the import of such stories around someone in my position.
“I am resigning therefore because I do not want this matter to become a preoccupation of government and a hindrance to the work of government at such a crucial time.
”I intend to cooperate fully with all state agencies to enable them fully establish the facts, I have no doubt whatsoever that at the end of the processes, it will be fully established that I have conducted myself with integrity during my period in public service and I will be fully exonerated from all the allegations that have filled the public domain in the past 24 hours.
“I thank you my dear, Mr President, for the honour done me in giving me the opportunity to serve our beautiful nation Ghana.”
However, Mrs Dapaah said in an earlier statement on Friday, July 21, that there were inconsistencies in the complaint and what had been reported in the public domain from the charge sheet and court proceedings.
“There are noticeable inconsistencies between what is being discussed in the public domain and the thrust of the original complaint on the matter,” the minister said.
“I refer to publications dated 21/07/2023 suggesting that I own one million dollars, three hundred thousand euros and millions of cedis which have been stolen from my house.”
”There are noticeable inconsistencies between what is being discussed in the public domain and the thrust of the original complaint on the matter.”
“I am taking steps to examine the origins of the inconsistencies and will provide a detailed response in the coming days,” Mrs Dapaah was quoted as saying in a press statement dated July 21, in reaction to media reports on the theft.
According to the report, two house servants, Patience Botwe, 18, and Sarah Agyei,30, working for the minister and her husband, Daniel Osei Kuffour are facing charges at an Accra Circuit Court, for allegedly stealing monies and items worth millions of cedis from the couple’s residence at Abelemkpe in Accra.
They allegedly stole personal effects belonging to the minister, including assorted clothes valued at GH¢95,000, handbags, perfumes, and jewellery worth US$95,000.
They have been charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and five counts of stealing, which alleged occurred between July and October 2022.
GIK/APA