Ministry of Roads and Highways clarifies controversial appointment of acting Chief Director

The Ministry of Roads and Highways has refuted claims that the sector minister, Francis Asenso-Boakye, acted in contravention of transition directives to appoint James Amoo-Gottfried as the Acting Chief Director of the ministry.

According to the statement signed by Nasir Ahmad Yartey, Head of the Public Relations Unit, the decision to appoint Amoo-Gottfried was made by the Office of the Head of Civil Service, not the minister.

The ministry emphasised that Amoo-Gottfried is the most senior civil servant in the roads sector, making him a fitting choice for the role.

“The attention of the Ministry of Roads and Highways has been drawn to various publications in some media outlets concerning the appointment of Ing. James Amoo-Gottfried as Ag. Chief Director of the Ministry of Roads and Highways.

“2. The publications accused the Minister of Roads and Highways, Hon. Francis Asenso- Boakye, of "disregarding the transition directives" by appointing Ing. James Amoo-Gottfried as the Ministry's chief director.

“3. The Ministry wishes to clarify that the appointment of Ing. Amoo-Gottfried, who is currently the most senior civil servant in the roads sector, was made by the Office of the Head of Civil Service.

“4. According to a letter dated 16th December 2024 addressed to the Minister of Roads and Highways, the Office of the Head of Civil Service stated: In view of the highly technical nature of the Roads Sector, I respectfully wish to inform you of the appointment of Ing. James Amoo-Gottfried, the current Director, Department of Urban Roads as the Acting Chief Director of the Ministry of Roads and Highways with effect from Tuesday 17th December 2024 pending the appointment of a substantive Chief Director,” part of the statement said.

The statement added, “5. The Ministry wishes to assure the public of its full commitment to cooperating with the ongoing transition process.”

It may be recalled that scores of National Democratic Congress (NDC) supporters stormed the Ministry of Roads and Highways early Wednesday, December 18, 2024, to protest the appointment of Godfred Amoo-Gottfried as Chief Director of the ministry.

The demonstrators, visibly angry, argued that Amoo-Gottfried’s appointment violated a directive from the Transition Team of President-Elect John Dramani Mahama, which mandated a halt to all payments, recruitments, transfers, and promotions during the transition period.

Amoo-Gottfried, currently the Director of the Urban Roads Department and Acting Chief Executive Officer of the newly-created Ghana Roads Authority, was reportedly promoted to replace Alhaji Abass Awula, the outgoing Chief Director of the ministry.

Speaking to classfmonline.com, the group’s spokesperson, Imoro Abdul Karim, questioned the actions of the outgoing Minister of Roads and Highways , Francis Asenso-Boakye, accusing him of disregarding the transition directives.

“We are here to register our displeasure with the promotion of Mr. Godfred Amoo. This decision places an unnecessary burden on the incoming government. Why would Mr. Asenso-Boakye go ahead with this appointment when a clear directive has been issued to halt such actions?” Karim said.

The protesters noted that Amoo-Gottfried did not report to assume the position following their demonstration.

They called on the ministry to respect the directives of the Transition Team and refrain from making last-minute changes that could disrupt the incoming administration.



AM/AE

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