The phenomenon of resignations by public officials has never been a common practice in Ghana.
While public officials in other countries willingly resign when engulfed in scandals, their counterparts in Ghana rarely blink an eye.
However, in recent years, the pressure from the public is gradually changing the narrative in the country.
During former president John Mahama’s regime, there were a couple of Ministers and government appointees who resigned after being caught up in controversies. The trend seems to have continued into the tenure of the ruling New Patriotic Party.
Since assuming office, President Akufo-Addo has accepted the resignations of some public officials and appointees.
Below, we take a look at some appointees who have resigned under the Akufo-Addo government:
Minister of State at the Office of the President, Rockson Bukari is the latest to resign under the Akufo-Addo government. Mr. Bukari has been in the news, following allegations of some corrupt practices he was involved in.
In a leaked tape, he was heard attempting to bribe the Starr FM journalist, Edward Adeti, to kill a story against a judge and a Chinese mining firm when he was Upper East Regional Minister.
Although the Minister has denied the allegations, he formally tendered in his resignation on Monday, April 29.
Otiko Afisa Djaba was one of the major casualties during President Akufo-Addo’s first ministerial reshuffle.
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She was removed as Minister of Gender, Children and Special Protection and reassigned as Ghana’s Ambassador to Italy.
However, she willingly declined the new position and resigned even before her tenure began, explaining that she wanted to take a break from politics.
A Presidential Staffer, Charles Bissue has also had to resign from the Akufo-Addo government after being caught up in a corruption scandal.
Mr. Bissue was captured in Anas’ last exposé titled “Galamsey Fraud” which focuses on illegal mining activities.
As a secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Charles Bissue, was caught in the undercover sting operation allegedly receiving bribe to allow illegal miners to operate despite a ban on the operation.
He later tendered in his resignation after the exposé was premiered.
4. William Quaitoo
William Quaitoo also resigned from government after allegedly making ethnocentric comments against the people of Northern Ghana.
He served as the Deputy Agric minister before resigning following mounting pressure from a section of Ghanaians over his comments.
In an interview with Accra-based Starr FM, he described Northerners as “difficult people”, while also claiming that farmers from the north were only interested in extorting money from government.
Despite later apologizing for his comments, there were some who still thought it was not enough, with the minority in Parliament particularly calling for his resignation.
The pressure eventually got to Mr. Quaitoo, who subsequently tendered in his resignation.
