General News of Saturday, 16 March 2019
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
2019-03-16
Minister-designate for Oti Region, Kwasi Owusu-Yeboa
Minister-designate for Oti Region, Kwasi Owusu-Yeboa has admitted to having ‘fled’ from office before the official end of his term as then Minister of State in Charge of Volta Region.
The Minister-designate revealed this while justifying why he stopped work in December 2014 as opposed to the January 6 official handing over date for government officials under the erstwhile Kufuor administration.
Mr. Owusu-Yeboa was asked why he had noted December 2014 rather than January 6 2015 on his CV, as when he left office under the then government.
He told members of Parliament’s appointments committee that the ‘environment’ in the region at the time, among other things was ‘hostile’ and that it only seemed right that he advised himself and left before any ‘danger’ overwhelmed him.
“It was clear that my mandate wasn’t going to be renewed, I was told in very express language that my mandate wasn’t going to be renewed. It was not just information that was given, but when you see replacement activities and signs, you don’t wait as it were to be booted out, if you have a sense of dignity and decency because after all it is a political appointment and whoever appoints has the right to disappoint”.
“If the climate was hostile and was not in my interest to remain there, I think it was prudent in the circumstance to have left”, he said.
Adding, “You know the situation in Ho at the time, we had just won power and the President in his wisdom thought that I was one person he could rely on and I went and did my best but it did happen that sometimes most of the problems you have are from your own people so if you realise danger approaching, I think it will be full hardiness to wait until you are overwhelmed by the danger”.
Asked if his statements meant he ‘ditched’ his responsibilities before time.
His response suggested that he was; “I left Ho because I was told the term was over and I should leave, so I left”.
“Technically, my tenure ended in December. To the best of my recollection in 2004. I don’t know whether you call it reshuffle or not but I left Ho at the end of December”.
The Oti region is one of six regions that the Akufo-Addo led administration created in December 2018. The regions were created through referendum and its capitals were named subsequently by the President Akufo-Addo.
Kwasi Owusu-Yeboa was vetted together with three others, Minister-designate for Oti Region, Upper West Region Minister-Designate, Dr. Hafiz Bin Sali and Toursim, Arts and Culture Minister-designate, Babara Oteng Gyasi on Friday, March 16, 2019.
