Cecilia Dapaah Scandal: Akufo-Addo Appoints Freda Prempeh As New Sanitation Minister
- President Akufo-Addo has appointed Freda Prempeh as the new Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources
- Prempeh is replacing Cecilia Dapaah, who resigned from the post after a corruption scandal
- The President has also made two new deputy minister appointments at the roads and transport and foreign affairs ministry
President Akufo-Addo has appointed Freda Prempeh as the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources following the resignation of Cecilia Dapaah.
Prempeh was serving as a Minister of State at the Presidency and is also the Tano North MP.
A statement from the presidency announced this development, alongside some other ministerial changes. The statement also indicated that Mavis Nkansah Boadu has been appointed Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, and Thomas Mbomba will now serve as the Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways.
Why Cecilia Dapaah resigned
Dapaah resigned after being embroiled in a corruption scandal over large amounts of money that were allegedly stolen from her home by house helps.
Maurice Ampaw seriously attacks Cecilia Dapaah's critics over her stolen $1m, €300,000: "Hypocrites"
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Dapaah explained in her resignation that she didn't want to be a distraction to the Akufo-Addo administration. She also said reports about the money stolen from her were inaccurate.
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that Dapaah's house helps stole cash from her home at Abelemkpe. The monies listed as having been stolen from her home are $1 million, €300,000 and an undisclosed amount of Ghana cedis.
According to reports, the minister detected the theft in June when the current house help was caught after entering the minister’s room with a duplicate key.
Cecilia Dapaah arrested and granted bail
Dapaah was granted bail after being arrested by the Office of the Special Prosecutor for alleged corruption. She was released from her detention late on Monday evening, according to reports.
Before being granted bail, Dapaah spent the day being questioned by the Special Prosecutor after reports that she had millions in cash stolen from her home.
Officials from the Special Prosecutor's Office also searched her official residence in Cantonments and her private residence in Abelemekpe.
Prosecution of the alleged thieves
Five persons are standing trial at a circuit court in Accra following the theft of the monies from Cecilia Dapaah's house.
The two main suspects are her current and former house help, 18-year-old Patience Botwe and 30-year-old Sarah Agyei, respectively.
In addition to the two main suspects, Benjamin, a 29-year-old plumber, Kweku Botwe, aged 65 years, and Malik Dauda, aged 23, were also arraigned in connection with the thefts.
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Source: YEN.com.gh