President Akufo-Addo has designated the Deputy Minister for Finance and member of Parliament for Atiwa East constituency, Eastern Region, who belongs to the New Patriotic Party (NPP), as a Minister of State within the finance ministry. Mrs. Abena Osei-Asare assumes this position succeeding Mohammed Amin Adam, who now serves as the substantive Finance Minister after the departure of Ken Ofori-Atta on February 14, 2024, following his seven years and two months tenure.
Dr. Alexander Ampaabeng, the NPP’s 2024 parliamentary candidate for the Juaboso constituency in the Western North Region, has been appointed as the deputy minister for finance, succeeding Abena Osei-Asare’s previous role.
These appointments mark the latest rearrangements made by President Akufo-Addo subsequent to the significant restructuring of his government on February 14, 2024. President Akufo-Addo has communicated these appointments to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Somana Kingsford Bagbin. Both appointees are anticipated to undergo vetting by Parliament’s appointments committee in the forthcoming days.
Mrs. Osei-Asare is both a banker and a Chartered Accountant who has represented the Atiwa East constituency in the Eastern Region as a Member of Parliament since January 7, 2013. Within Parliament, she serves on the Parliamentary Service Board and the Finance Committee since January 2017, and the Employment, Social Welfare, and State Enterprises Committee since January 2013. Additionally, she was a member of the Public Accounts Committee from January 2013 until January 2017.
Before her parliamentary career, Abena Osei-Asare held positions including Assistant Director at New York University in Ghana from 2004 to 2007 and customer team leader in the Treasury Department of Barclays Bank Ghana Limited from 2007 to 2009. She is married with three children and manages an NGO called “The Waterbrooke Foundation,” which assists academically gifted but financially disadvantaged students.
Dr. Alexander Ampaabeng, based in Accra, is involved with the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) Ghana program, collaborating with the legal and economic team. With 17 years of experience, he specializes in accounting, finance, fiscal policy, and economics. His previous roles include finance officer at NHS England and teaching economics, accounting, and finance at various UK universities. Before joining NRGI, Alex worked as a fiscal policy specialist for Oxfam in Ghana, focusing on tax and fiscal policy contributions to the national budget. He initiated projects such as the ‘Tax Strategy Team’ and the ‘CSO Budget Forum’ to engage civil society and government on tax policies and budgets.
Dr. Ampaabeng founded the weekly radio and national TV show “Ghana Tax Dialogue” in 2018 and contributed to Oxfam’s extractive sector work, conducting research and engaging policymakers on energy-related issues. He is a prominent figure in high-level events organized by the UN, IMF, World Bank, OECD, and ECOWAS, advocating for tax, fiscal policy, and broader economic matters.
Alex holds a Ph.D. in accounting and finance specializing in taxation, an MBA in financial management, an M.Sc. in accounting and finance, and a PGCE in business.
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