Freshly Appointed PURC Board Chairman Thomas Mba Akabzaa Dies Suddenly

• The Board Chairman of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Professor Thomas Mba Akabzaa, has been confirmed dead
• Akabzaa died at the University of Ghana Medical Centre on April 17, 2025, but no cause of death has been disclosed
• He was notably unable to attend his official swearing-in on March 28, 2025, in person and joined virtually

The newly appointed Board Chairman of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Professor Thomas Mba Akabzaa, has died.

Citi News reported that he died at the University of Ghana Medical Centre on Thursday, April 17, 2025.

No cause of death has been disclosed by the family or authorities.

Akabzaa was appointed by President John Dramani Mahama to chair the eight-member PURC Board.

Although he was unable to attend the official swearing-in ceremony in person, he joined virtually and was officially inducted into office on March 28, 2025.

Media Without Borders described Akabzaa as "selflessness incarnate".

Before his appointment to the PURC Board, Akabzaa had served as a Professor at the Department of Earth Science at the University of Ghana, where his scholarly work in mining, environment, and natural resources earned him over 2,289 citations.

He also authored two notable books: Boom and Dislocation: Environmental and Social Impacts of Mining in the Wassa West District of Ghana and The Glittering Façade: Environmental and Health Impacts of Mining in the Obuasi Area.

In addition to his academic work, Akabzaa served as Chief Director at the Ministry of Energy from 2011 to 2017.

He also held several key roles, including Board Chairman of the West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited and membership in several professional associations both locally and internationally.

Other notable NDC deaths in NDC ranks

On January 17, 2024, Mark Owen Woyongo, a former Minister of Defence, Interior, and MP for Navrongo Central, died at 78 years old.

In 2008, he contested the Navrongo parliamentary elections on the ticket of the NDC, where he lost to Joseph Adda of the New Patriotic Party.

With the NDC in power at the time, he was appointed the Upper East Regional Minister by President John Evans Atta Mills in his government in 2009.

On October 2, 2023, the former Member of Parliament for the Ningo-Prampram, Enoch Teye Mensah, died aged 77.

Under various NDC governments, he served as Minister for Youth and Sports, Minister for Employment and Social Welfare and Minister for Education.

Former Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Sherry Ayittey, under the NDC, passed away in 2023.

Her family confirmed to the public that the Ghanaian politician and women's activist died on Saturday, July 22, but the cause of her demise was not disclosed.

Sam Pee Yalley passes on

YEN.com.gh reported that Sam Pee Yalley, a former appointee during the 2013 Mahama administration, passed away on April 6 after a short illness.

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, was among the first to express condolences, calling Yalley a brother and a friend.

The NDC communications director, Sammy Gyamfi, called the passing of the former commissioner heart-wrenching.

Source: YEN.com.gh