Ms Dapaah says that she decided to resign from office because she does not want her personal issues to become a hindrance to the government

The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has accepted the resignation of the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resource, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, a source close to the Office of the President has confirmed to Asaase News.

Confirming the president’s decision in a post on his Facebook wall, the director of communications at Jubilee House, Eugene Arhin, said: “The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has accepted the resignation from office of Hon Cecilia Abena Dapaah as Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources and member of government.

“President Akufo-Addo applauded Hon Cecilia Dapaah’s loyalty to the image and standing of his government, and thanked her also for her whole-hearted contribution and devotion to the progress of the government and the nation. He wished her the best in all her endeavours.

“The president will soon appoint a new minister for sanitation and water resources,” the post added.

Cecilia Dapaah tendered her resignation letter to the president today (Saturday 22 July 2023), following a news report of a criminal case, instituted at the Accra circuit court, against five accused who are charged with the various offences of stealing various items and sums of money from Ms Dapaah’s home in Abelenkpe, a suburb of Accra.

President Akufo-Addo first appointed Ms Dapaah as minister of aviation in January 2017. She moved to the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources in a reshuffle and was reappointed to the portfolio when President Akufo-Addo began his second term in office.

In her letter, Ms Dapaah says that her decision to resign from office is motivated by the wish not to allow her personal difficulties to become “a hindrance on the work of government”. She also declares that she will co-operate fully with all state agencies that may seek to engage her in any investigations.

“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,” her letter said.

“I intend to co-operate 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,” Ms Dapaah concluded.

President Akufo-Addo is expected to name Ms Dapaah’s successor shortly, a statement from his office said. The president is currently in Italy, where he is participating in the fourth annual European Corporate Council on Africa and the Middle East (ECAM) summit.

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