Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, MP Dormaa Central
Kwaku Agyeman-Manu born September 6, 1955, is a Ghanaian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Dormaa Central in the Bono Region and also the Minister of Health.
He is a member of the Members Holding Offices of Profit Committee and a Chartered Management Accountant and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Statistics from the University of Ghana in 1989.
Agyeman-Manu was born in Dormaa Ahenkro in the then Brong Ahafo Region now Bono Region. He had his G.C.E Ordinary Level in 1973 and his G.C.E Advanced Level in 1975. He is a Chartered Management Accountant and Associate Member in 1990 and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Statistics from the University of Ghana in 1979. He also graduated with Management Accountancy from the London School of Accountancy.
He was the Director of finance at the Ghamot Company Limited and also at Toyota Ghana Company Limited. He was also the Deputy Chief Accountant at the MIM Timber Company Limited.
Political career
Agyeman-Manu is a member of the New Patriotic Party and the member of parliament for Dormaa Central Constituency in the then Brong Ahafo region of Ghana. He served as the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee in the immediate-past Parliament and was the acting CEO of the National Health Authority in 2006, and also the deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning under former President Kufuor's administration (2001 to 2008). In this government, he served a Deputy Minister of State in the following Ministries: Trade and Industry, Interior, Finance, Communication and Roads and Transport. He has served on the Boards of institutions such as the Small Arms Commission of Ghana, the Ghana Revenue Authority, Bank of Ghana, and the Divestiture Implementation Committee.
Cabinet minister
In May, 2017, President Nana Akufo-Addo named Kwaku Agyeman-Manu as part of nineteen ministers who would form his cabinet. The names of the 19 ministers were submitted to the Parliament of Ghana and announced by the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Prof. Mike Ocquaye.As a Cabinet Minister, Agyemang-Manu is part of the inner circle of the President and aids in key decision-making policies for the country.
Public lie about his COVID-19 status
On June 13, 2020, several media outlets in Ghana announced that he, his wife and his son had tested positive for COVID-19 and were on admission at the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC).
Kwaku Agyeman-Manu was admitted on Tuesday and was released on Friday whiles his wife and son are in critical conditions at the intensive care unit of UGMC. He claimed that he hasn't tested positive on COVID-19 on Saturday when he spoke via phone to a journalist called Afia Pokuaa aka Vim Lady. He claimed to be only resting and taking his usual diabetes medication. It is rumored that his conditions has created panic in Government and several top officials are isolating themselves. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the President of Ghana, announced on National TV that his Minister of Health indeed contracted COVID-19.
It is to note that the parliamentary primaries of the NPP in the Ministers constituency have been postponed further. It will be interesting to see if the residence and especially delegates of his party further support him after this.
Boasting about WHO Executive Board
Hon. Kwaku Agyeman-Manu has been called to serve on the executive board of the World Health Organization (WHO) as the representative of Ghana who is a member state of the WHO. It was widely published in the Ghanaian media that it was his good works/initiatives as a Minister and his technical competence which has caused this high ranking appointment. It is to note that WHO elects its members from their Member States only. Being the Minister of Health in Ghana, he therefore representing Ghana and not himself. Mr. Agyeman-Manu joins in as one of the seven Africans who represent their countries to support the executive board of WHO in May 2020.
Agyeman-Manu is a Christian. He is married and has six known children.
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