Profile of Dan Botwe; the Local Government, Decentralisation & Rural Development Minister-designate

Mr Daniel Kweku Botwe, an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Specialist and incumbent Member of Parliament for Okere, was born on February 26, 1958 in the Eastern Region. He had his elementary education at the Presbyterian Primary and Middle schools at Mabang in the Ahafo-Ano District of the Ashanti Region.

He proceeded to Kumasi Academy where he obtained his General Certificate of Education (GCE) Ordinary Level Certificate and continued to Achimota School for his GCE Advanced Level Certificate in 1977. He then gained admission to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) for the BSc in Computer Science.

While at KNUST, he was elected the National Secretary of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) from 1982 to 1983. His election coincided with the beginning of the military rule under the Provisional National Defence Council.

Mr Botwe, a politically active liberal democrat, was one of the brains behind the altercations that the universities and other tertiary institutions had with the military regime. He went into exile alongside other Ghanaians to La Cote D’Ivoire.

He braved the terrifying political environment in the late 80s and early 90s to assist with the formation of the Danquah-Busia-Dombo Club, which eventually metamorphosed into the current New Patriotic Party (NPP).

He was once the National Treasurer of the Youth Wing of the Party and in 1996 was made the Director of Operations and Research at the National Headquarters of the NPP, a position he combined with the duties of a national organizer, which he discharged with exceptional dispatch. As the Director of Operation and Research, he, among other things, attended several courses on political leadership and party organisation in Ghana, South Africa, Europe and the Republic of Korea.

Dan Botwe worked as a Computer Analyst at the Ghana Cocoa Board from 1985 to 1993 before moving into private business.

He was once the Director of Danmaud Limited where he gained massive administrative experience, culminating in major political breakthroughs, the basis for which he once contested the flagbearership of the NPP.

From 1998, when he took office as General Secretary of the Party, Dan Dotwe provided the leadership and direction that transformed the NPP, energizing its constituency structures by encouraging party faithful to work mostly without pay in various constituency offices across the country.

With his knowledge of the party system and the infusion of new and dynamic ideas, Dan Botwe took the management and organisation of the NPP to a new level.

He traversed the length and breadth of the country and with sincerity, personal touch and inspiration, moved the foot-soldiers to deliver with zeal, even when their allowances delayed or did not come at all.

With the NPP’s confidence reposed in him, he was chosen to represent the Party on the Inter–Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) at the Electoral Commission in 1996 and was one of the accredited representatives in the Commission’s operations room where various constituency results were received during elections.

He was the General Secretary of the Party from 2001 to 2004, and strangely but politely declined a ministerial appointment in January 2001, offered by President John Agyekum Kufour, and chose instead to remain in the party to work to strengthen its base to ensure further electoral successes.

As a Minister for Information, he also asked for the employment of 500 persons to help boost government information delivery and the image of the party. He spoke for the party at all times.

He was head of the research and strategy committee at the NPP Headquarters, a position he last held before becoming a Member of Parliament of Okere. He doubles as the Party’s Director of Campaign Strategy.

Mr Botwe’s five good years of active participation in Cabinet proceedings enormously enriched his knowledge and experience in matters of policy development, formulation and implementation at the very highest level.

Later as Minister of Information during President John Agyekum Kufuor’s Administration, he observed that the Information Service Department, which was a major tool for propagating government’s policies, programmes and achievements, had not more than 30 working vehicles nationwide.

He lobbied Cabinet to secure approval for 150 Information Service vans for the Department. He also secured approval for 10 vehicles for the Ghana News Agency (GNA) across the country.

Mr Dan Botwe is married with three children. He is a Christian and a member of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana.