The president's response to the resignation of Dapaah can influence the outcome of ongoing investigations – CenPOA

A senior lecturer in strategy and international business at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom, Dr Abdul-Razak Alhassan, believes President Akufo-Addo’s reaction to Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah’s resignation can influence the ongoing investigation into the alleged stolen money in her house.

According to the lecturer, who is also the Policy Lead and Deputy Executive Director at the Centre for Public Opinion and Awareness (CenPOA), the President’s comments put the anti-corruption bodies investigating the case in a difficult position.

President Akufo-Addo, in response to the resignation of Cecilia Abena Dapaah, applauded her loyalty in protecting the image of his government following her resignation as Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources.

The president described Madam Dapaah’s work at the ministry as “excellent and productive.”

”I have received your letter, dated Saturday, 22nd July 2023, resigning from office as Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources and as a member of the Government. It is with considerable regret that I accept your resignation, and I applaud your loyalty to the image and standing of the Government. The work you undertook during your period in Government was excellent and productive, and I thank you for your wholehearted contribution and devotion to the progress of the Government and the Nation. I am confident, like you, that, at the end of the day, your integrity, whilst in office, will be fully established. I wish you the very best in all your endeavours,” the President said.

Dr. Alhassan responded by saying the President’s comments were unfortunate and appear to be an interference in the work of the bodies investigating the matter.

”The way the president responded to the resignation letter of the former minister was concerning. When you read the letter, it seems to more or less exonerate the former minister. We are not saying that anyone is guilty when issues like this arise. But I think they should go through the right processes. If you make a statement like this in your letter, it sends signals to the agencies that are responsible for or investigating the issue that if the president himself is making statements that will suggest that the minister may not be found culpable of, then the agencies may react to it and that can influence the outcome of their probe.”

He added that the government minister had no other option but to resign since she would have been fired if she had not resigned.

To him, the president could have gone further than acknowledging her resignation letter.

”He [the President] could have referred the matter for further investigations. I think the President did not do himself justice by the response he gave to the resignation. He could have gone much beyond that by actually taking himself out of the situation and letting those agencies go ahead with their investigations and come out with their outcome and not suggesting in his letter that he believes that at the end of the day the integrity of the former minister would be established.”