One of the key features of the second John Dramani Mahama government is the appointment of top academics to lead key sectors of Ghana’s economy.
Ironically, most of these academics are from the alma mater of the president, the University of Ghana (UG), with their appointments being seen by many as merited.
These academics, who include both known members of the ruling National Democratic Congress and “neutrals”, come with the expertise that many believe will help transform the state entities they have been appointed to lead.
Below are brief details of some of the University of Ghana lecturers who have gained appointments in Mahama’s government:
Professor Nana Ama Browne Klutse
Professor Nana Ama Browne Klutse, who was appointed by President Mahama as the Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Environmental Protection Agency, is a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana and the head of its Physics Department.
Professor Browne Klutse is the first female full professor of Physics at the University of Ghana in the 75 years of the university.
She is a climate change scientist and has set many records in her career. She became the first female to head the Physics Department of the University of Ghana in 2023.
She is also the youngest professor of Physics in Ghana and the first Ghanaian to be elected to the UN IPCC (United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Bureau as the Vice-Chair of Working Group 1.
She is a member of the Task Group on Data Support for Climate Change Assessments (TG-Data); the Scientific Board of the International Basic Sciences Programme (IBSP) of UNESCO; and the Research Advisory Panel of the South African Weather Service. She previously worked as the Remote Sensing Manager at the GIS and Climate Centre and as a senior research scientist at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission.
Professor Browne Klutse has also been very active politically. She has contested the NDC parliamentary primaries in the Abura Asebu Kwamankese Constituency in the Central Region on two occasions.
Professor Nana Ama Browne Klutse was born on May 23, 1981, at Nyanfeku Ekroful in the Central Region and holds a BSc in Physics from the University of Cape Coast. She went on to read BSc Physics and a PhD in Climatology at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Professor Michael Kpessa-Whyte
Professor Michael Kpessa-Whyte, another academic at the University of Ghana, was appointed as the Acting Director-General of the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) by President John Dramani Mahama.
Professor Kpessa-Whyte is a research fellow at the History and Politics Section of the Institute of African Studies (IAS), University of Ghana.
He is a distinguished academic and policy expert with extensive experience in governance, public policy analysis, and social democracy.
He holds a PhD in Political Science with a focus on Comparative Public Policy from McMaster University; a Master’s degree in Political Science, specialising in International Relations, from Brock University; and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Ghana.
Additionally, he was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan (2009–2010).
Professor Kpessa-Whyte has also been active politically, playing key roles in the running of the National Democratic Congress. He was one of the two agents who represented the party at the Electoral Commission’s National Collation Centre for the 2020 election.
Professor Ransford Edward Van Gyampo
President Mahama also appointed Professor Ransford Edward Van Gyampo as the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority.
Gyampo is a professor of Political Science and the Founding Director of the Centre for European Studies at the University of Ghana, with 20 years of teaching and research experience.
He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Ghana and Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, USA; an MPhil in Political Science from the University of Ghana; and a B.A. in Political Science, also from the University of Ghana.
Professor Gyampo previously served as a senior research fellow at the Governance Unit of the Institute of Economic Affairs, the Coordinator of the Ghana Political Parties Programme, as well as a member of Ghana’s Electoral Reforms Committee.
He also served as a visiting scholar at the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of South Florida, United States of America (USA), and as a visiting professor at the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of Bristol.
Professor Gyampo is not a known member of the ruling National Democratic Congress and was an ardent critic of the first Mahama government.
Professor Kobby Mensah
Another UG professor who has been offered a job by President Mahama is Professor Kobby Mensah, who was appointed the Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Tourism Development Company.
Professor Mensah is an associate professor at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) and a distinguished expert in tourism marketing.
His appointment comes at a crucial time as Ghana seeks to further position itself as a leading tourism destination in Africa.
His long-standing involvement in promoting tourism within the country is marked by his successful initiatives, most notably the Destination Legon Tourism Marketing Exhibition.
Beyond his academic endeavours, Prof Mensah has worked on developing innovative strategies to market Ghana’s tourism potential, including initiatives to improve the country’s infrastructure, cultural heritage, and branding.
He is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK, and a member of the Political Marketing Specialist Group (PMSG), coordinating the Ghana Political Marketing Group (Ghana PMG).
Professor Mensah holds a PhD in Journalism from the University of Sheffield, UK, and an MSc in International Marketing from Sheffield Hallam University, also in the UK.
Professor Lord Mensah
Professor Lord Mensah, also of the University of Ghana Business School, was appointed the Acting Head of the Local Government Service.
Professor Mensah is a full professor of Financial Economics at the University of Ghana Business School.
He holds a PhD in Applied Economics-Finance from the University of Antwerp in Belgium, an MSc in Financial Mathematics from the University of Kaiserslautern in Germany, and a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
Beyond academia, Professor Mensah has consulted for major institutions such as the Central Bank of Nigeria, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Bank of Ghana.
He also serves as Executive Director of the African Centre for Development Finance and is a respected voice in Ghana’s economic policy space, regularly featured in national media and corporate circles.
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