Ken Ofori-Atta returns home after post-COVID-19 treatment in the US

Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister-nominee, has returned home after seeking further medical attention in the United States of America for what was reportedly some complications following his recovery from COVID-19.

Ofori-Atta had reportedly tested positive in December last year and the situation grew worse early this year.

A report by Asaase Radio, a pro-NPP website sighted by GhanaWeb stated that, upon his arrival via Delta Air at the Kotoka International Airport on Saturday, March 20, “Ken Ofori-Atta drove straight to the Jubilee House, the seat of the country’s presidency to inform the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, of his recovery and return back to base.”

Ken Ofori-Atta, on Sunday, February 14 this year, left the country to the United States for a medical review reportedly based on the advice of his medical doctor.

He spent about thirty days at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, USA, where he received specialized treatment for post-COVID-19 complications.

“While the Finance Minister is clearly on a mend with regard to the medical challenge he suffered, his doctors have advised that he reduces his workload in order to ensure that he makes a complete recovery,” the Asaase Radio report stated further.

Due to Ofori-Atta’s absence, the Ghanaian government’s budget and economic policy for the 2021 fiscal year was read on the floor of Parliament by Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Majority Leader - a first, since at least Ghana’s fourth Republican democracy began in 1992.

All other minister-nominees of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo have been vetted by Parliament’s Appointments Committee, approved by Parliament and have subsequently been sworn into office by the President.

The Appointments Committee will in all likelihood engage Ken Ofori-Atta to find an appropriate time and date for his vetting.