President Akufo-Addo has appointed the Minister of State at the Presidency and Member of Parliament for Tano North, Freda Prempeh, as the new Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources.
She takes over from Cecilia Abena Dapaah, who announced her resignation from office on Saturday, July 22, 2023.
The resignation followed revelations that her house helps had allegedly stolen substantial amounts of both foreign and local currencies from her residence in Accra.
"President Akufo-Addo, in consultation with the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and Roads and Highways, respectively, has also appointed the Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways and Member of Parliament for Afigya Sekyere East, Mavis Nkansah Boadu, as Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, and Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and Member of Parliament for Tatale/Sanguli, Thomas Mbomba, as Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways."
This was contained in a statement signed by the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin on Tuesday, July 25, 2023.
Freda Prempeh is a three-time Member of Parliament for Tano North and the only female MP in the Bono and Ahafo Regions. She is a former deputy minister of works and housing and the immediate past deputy minister of gender, children and social protection.
The Tano North lawmaker obtained her first degree studying business administration at the University of Ghana. She has an MA in marketing as well as an MA in media and public relations and earned a PhD in business administration from Ghana Telecommunication University in March 2021.
Dr Prempeh also received the award for best student in population communication from the Ghana Institute of Journalism in 1998.
She has an aptitude for politics and served as the assembly member for the Lakoo Electoral Area, in the Dadekotopon constituency of the Greater Accra Region for a period of eight years, chairing the local subcommittees on women and children and on development planning.
Before she became a Member of Parliament, Dr Prempeh worked with the Ghana Prison Service for ten years. She also served on the National Reconciliation Commission as a public affairs officer in 2006.
Dr Prempeh got the nod from her constituency to become the MP for Tano North on the ticket of the NPP in the year 2013. She has served in Parliament since then.
With effort and commitment, she served on the parliamentary committees for communications, government assurances and mines and energy over a period of nine years. She is currently serving on the local government committee and the government assurances committee.
She is a development-oriented woman and has achieved noticeable success in her quest to develop her constituency. Health, education and infrastructural development remain her priorities and are high on her agenda.
As a sports fanatic and staunch believer in women’s capabilities, she founded the Women Supporters Union of Ghana (WOSUGHA). She was the chairperson of the women’s championship for the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) hosted in Ghana in 2008.
Dr Prempeh is an accredited member and an associate member of the Institute of Public Relations (IPR, Ghana), as well as an affiliate member of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA).
She has taken part in various workshops and conferences and received many awards in recognition of her leadership, dedication and selfless service, and for promoting gender issues.
Among the awards she has received are the Ultimate Woman Laureate, the Orlando Spirit of Service Award, the Brong-Ahafo Young Adult Fellowship Award for Excellence, the Distinguished Leadership Award for Excellence and the Ghana Nigeria Achievers Award.