The Minister for Special Development Initiatives, Hon. Hawa Koomson, on Friday, 7th September, 2018, sworn-in the Ministerial Advisory Board for the ministry of Special Development Initiatives in Accra.

The swearing-in of the board is in accordance with section 39 of the Civil Service Act, 1993, (PNDCL 327), which requires that, all ministries are to establish Ministerial Advisory Board.

The establishment of the board is, among others, to promote constant interaction between the board and the Ministry and to also advice the Minister on adjustments in policy direction, planning objectives and operational strategies.

Speaking at the ceremony in Accra, the Minister for Special Development Initiatives, Hon. Hawa Koomson, explained that per the act of the Civil Service, every ministry was required to establish an Advisory Board to support it and the various Departments and Agencies under it to carry out its mandate.

Hon. Hawa Koomson, therefore, charged the Board to work assiduously to enable the ministry and the country achieve their set goals and urged Ghanaians, especially civil and public servants, to come together irrespective of their political opinions to work effortlessly for the growth of the economy which every individual would want to see succeed.

She reiterated President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s determination to ensure that the transformation agenda he promised the people of Ghana in the lead up to the 2016 elections is realized hence the need for all to come on board to help realize this dream.

In a statement on behalf of the board, a Deputy Minister for Finance, Hon. Abena Osei-Asare, thanked the President and the Minister for the opportunity offered them to make a contribution towards the success of the Ministry and again assured the Minister that, together with her colleagues on the board, they will make available their rich experiences and expertise to the Ministry at all times.

Members of the board are Mr. Armo-Himbson, Chief Director of the Ministry, Hon. Abena Osei-Asare, a deputy Minister for Finance, Mr. E.N. Agyemang Prempeh, D-G NADMO, Mr. Patrick Affum Asumadu, Ministry of Water and Sanitation, Dr. Betty Simawua Annan, Geosystems Consulting Limited, and Engr. Kweku Mensah Solomon, Ghana Institution of Engineering.

The Ministry of Special Development Initiatives is mandated to provide an oversight responsibility to the three (3) Development Authorities in the provision of basic infrastructure at the Constituency level through the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP).

IPEP is an innovative intervention of government which aims at allocating to each constituency, the cedis equivalent of US$1 million annually to be invested in priority development infrastructure needs of the Constituency. IPEP is in two folds; Government priority projects and the Constituency Infrastructure needs.