Mahama Sends Ahwoi To South Africa

Kwesi Ahwoi
President John Dramani Mahama has assigned the immediate past Interior Minister, Kwesi Ahwoi, to South Africa as the Ghana High Commissioner to that country, several weeks after he was relieved of his ministerial position.

President Mahama has also appointed his senior policy advisor, Dr. Sulley Gariba, to Canada as Ghana’s High Commissioner.

The two appointments will be finalized after an approval by the Council of State.

Mr. Ahwoi was also Minister for Food and Agriculture under the current National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration.

He is one of the trio of the famed ‘power broking’ brothers of the ruling party known as the Ahwoi Brothers.

It is alleged that the Ahwoi brothers are grooming Kwesi as a potential presidential candidate on the ticket of the NDC. His position as Interior Minister ostensibly made him a Cabinet Minister; however, as an envoy to South Africa, he will be subordinate to Hannah Tetteh, Foreign Affairs Minister, who is rumoured to have been penciled to replace Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur as running mate to President Mahama in 2016.

Mr. Kwesi Ahwoi’s current assignment has been seen by some political pundits as a demotion by President Mahama, who had vowed in his popular ‘Green Letter’ that he was going to embark on major shakeups and house cleaning in his government.

Dr. Gariba’s appointment is the first one at the presidency after Mahama had issued a letter to all presidential staffers last July, alerting them of an impending shakeup.

In another development, President Mahama has nominated Dr. Kwesi Botchwey, former finance minister, to chair the National Development Planning Commission.

The former finance minister takes over from the late PV Obeng, who passed away in May.

Dr. Botchwey, who is Ghana’s longest serving finance minister, is currently the Board Chairman of the Ghana National Gas Company.

The President has also appointed Dr. Nii Moi Thompson, an economist, as Acting Director-General of the NDPC.

Until his appointment, Dr. Thompson was a Senior Economic Advisor to the President.

By Raphael Ofori-Adeniran

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