My mandate is to coordinate the economic sector – Osafo Marfo

Senior Minister nominee, Mr Yaw Osafo Marfo has said President Nana Akufo-Addo charged him as Senior Minister if his nomination is approved by parliament to “coordinate” the mandates of the various economic ministries in the NPP led-government.

Clarifying his appointments to the Appointments Committee in Parliament today 20 January, the Senior Minister nominee said: “The president told me specifically that we (NPP) have had a senior minister before in the person of J.H. Mensah, whom I worked with because at the time I was the minister of finance and he coordinated the economic sector ministries.”

“… All the productive sectors are referred to as economic sector and they will be a major bloc as a subcommittee of parliament and they coordinate the activities of the economic sectors of his cabinet, as it may be, and he wanted me to bring my experience as a [former] minister of finance, as somebody who has done a similar job in Uganda, as somebody who has done a similar job in Liberia, to bear [on his government] … so, I’m playing a coordinating role for the economic sector as it were.

“The economic sector relates to the other ministries, so, naturally my experience will be brought to bear on my colleagues to make sure that we resuscitate the economy in a very homogenised manner so that there will be harmony”.

He added that “from our manifesto, one of the major priorities of the president is to transform the economy because as you are aware, the economy is in some difficulty, we are in an IMF programme and we hope to come out with flying colours.”