Deputy Trade Minister resigns after breaching COVID-19 protocols

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Friday, 3 July 2020 accepted the resignation from office of the Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah which takes immediate effect.

This follows the admission by the Deputy Minister of his breach of the COVID-19 protocols, when, as a person certified to be positive for the virus, he visited a registration centre in his constituency before the period of self-isolation was complete.

A letter from the Presidency signed by Mr Eugene Arhin, Director of Communications said, President Akufo-Addo is admonishing all of his appointees to bear in mind that they are to provide leadership, at all times, for adherence to the protocols that have been established to help the nation defeat COVID-19.

In accepting the resignation, Nana Akufo-Addo recognised that Mr Ahenkorah had acted honourably in the circumstances by resigning from his office and wished him well.

“I took my COVID-19 to some registration centres” – Carlos Ahenkorah, but says “I was very careful”

Deputy Minister of Trade and Industries, Mr Carlos Ahenkorah, has said despite being COIVD-19 positive, he toured some registration centres to see how the process was going when the Electoral Commission began registering Ghanaians for a new voter ID card ahead of the 7 December 2020 polls.

The Tema West MP admitted to Asempa FM’s Ekosiisen political talk show host Osei Bonsu on Thursday, 2 July 2020 in an interview that he toured the centres on the first day of the exercise – Tuesday, 30 June 2020.

“I decided to see how some of the centres were just operating. So, I stepped out into town a bit. It didn’t mean I couldn’t go out. My test results had shown I was positive a week ago and after one week, my doctors said I could step out,” he told Asempa FM

“They [doctors] said I could go out, except that I needed to wear my mask and observe social distancing,” the lawmaker added.

He said he was “very careful” and “very mature about it”.