The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah has resigned.
This follows the scandal concerning several foreign and local currencies her house helps allegedly stole from her residence.
In her resignation letter addressed to the President, Madam Dapaah said she decided to step down “because I do not want this matter to become a preoccupation of government and a hindrance to the work of government at such a crucial time.”
It emerged on Friday, July 21 that two house helps of the Minister were facing charges before an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly stealing an amount of $1 million, €300,000, and millions of Ghanaian cedis at her residence at Abelenkpe, Accra, in October 2022.
The two, 18-year-old Patience Botwe and 30-year-old Sarah Agyei allegedly stole the monies and personal effects of the couple, between the months of July and October 2022.
Both are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit a crime and five counts of stealing US$1 million, €300,000, and millions of Ghana cedis.
Cecilia Dapaah however insisted that there are inaccuracies in the figures being bandied in the media.
“Whereas I can state emphatically that those figures do not represent correctly what my husband and I reported to the Police, I am very much aware of the import of such stories around someone in my position.”
“I intend to cooperate fully with all state agencies to enable them fully establish the facts. I have no doubt whatsoever that at the end of the processes, it will be fully established that I have conducted myself with integrity during my period in public service and I will be fully exonerated from all the allegations that have filled the public domain in the past 24 hours.”
Minority wades into stolen money saga
Many people including the Minority Leader, Cassiel Ato Forson called for her resignation to make way for an independent investigation to ascertain the source of the funds considering that she is an Article 71 Office Holder.
Before her resignation, she had reacted to reports of the stolen funds and the ongoing trial and said such reports contained “noticeable inconsistencies.”
Below is the Minister’s resignation note.
Source CNR