The outgoing Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Catherine Abelema Afeku, has expressed her commitment to the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, whom she described as the captain of the team for delivering value to Ghanaians.
She said as the captain of the team, the President was the embodiment of the strategy and knew who could best help him deliver the best results.
Mrs Afeku said she, therefore, had no qualms about the recent ministerial reshuffle which moved her to the Presidency, assigning her to the Office of the Senior Minister.
Reacting to some reports that she had rejected the recent changes in ministerial portfolios, she expressed surprise at reports that she had resigned because she considered her new job a demotion.
The former Tourism Minister insisted that she had not resigned from government, neither had she abandoned the President’s team, dream and vision, saying: “I’m committed to serving my people as a Member of Parliament and Minister of State in whatever capacity the President deems fit for me.”
The appointment
In January 2017, some residents of the Evalue-Ajomoro-Gwira Constituency in the Western Region commended the President for appointing Mrs Afeku as Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture.
The appointment made her the first from the constituency to be appointed a minister and also a female minister.
The people of Evalue-Ajomoro-Gwira expressed the view that tourism, which is special to Mrs Afeku, would see a revolution across the country and consequently improve the local economy and create jobs for the people.
Background
Mrs Afeku lost her seat to the National Democratic Congress in the 2012 election but annexed it back in 2016.
She was recently appointed the Chairperson of the Leadership Taskforce of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) at the organisation’s first meeting of the Leadership Taskforce in January this year at its headquarters in Madrid, Spain.
