Matthew Opoku Prempeh

Matthew Opoku Prempeh, (born 23 May 1968) is a Ghanaian medical doctor and politician. He is a member of the New Patriotic Party and a Member of Parliament for Manhyia South Constituency in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. He is a former Minister of Education.[1] He is popularly known as NAPO.[2][3][4] He is currently the Minister for Energy.[5][6][7][8]

Hon. Dr,
Matthew Opoku Prempeh
Member of Parliament for Manhyia South Constituency
Assumed office
7 January 2009
Minister of Energy
Assumed office
7 January 2021
Preceded byJohn Peter Amewu
Minister of Education
In office
10 January 2017 – 6 January 2021
Personal details
Born
Matthew Opoku Prempeh

(1968-05-23) 23 May 1968
Pakyi No 2, Ghana
Political partyNew Patriotic Party
Alma materPrempeh College
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Harvard Kennedy School
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionMedical doctor
CommitteesDefense and Interior Committee; Appointments Committee

Early life and education

Prempeh was born on 23 May 1968 and hails from Pakyi No 2 in the Ashanti Region.[9] He studied Human Biology and Medicine at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, later continuing post-graduate studies at the Netherlands Institute of Health Sciences and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.[10][11]

Career

Prior to parliament, Prempeh served as CEO of Keyedmap Security Services Limited from 2004 to 2009.[9] He is also a medical doctor [12] and served as a member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2003.[13]

Politics

Member of parliament

As a Ghana parliamentarian, he represents Manhyia South in Kumasi, formerly representing Manhyia.[10] He was first elected to parliament in 2008 and is a member of the New Patriotic Party.[9] In 2016, he was re-elected with 35,958 votes, or 87.17% of the votes cast in the district.[14] He was a member of the health committee and appointments committee. Prempeh contested the 2020 Ghanaian general election as a parliamentary candidate for the Manhyia South constituency, under the banner of the New Patriotic Party and won by a large margin.[15]

Minister of Education

He was appointed by President Nana Akufo-Addo on 10 January 2017 to serve as Minister for Education of Ghana.[10] He served in that role for 4 years till 6 January 2021 when the tenure of office of the president and his ministers ended.

In May 2017, President Nana Akufo-Addo named Prempeh as part of the nineteen ministers who would form his cabinet.[16] The names of the 19 ministers were submitted the Parliament of Ghana and announced by the Speaker of the House, Mike Ocquaye.[16] As a Cabinet minister, Prempeh was part of the inner circle of the president and was to aid in key decision-making activities in the country.[16]

Prempeh also contributed to the educational sector of Ghana as a Minister of Education such as improving the infrastructure and promoting vocational and technical education (TVET) and leading the government's flagship programme ''FREE SHS''.[17][18]

Committees

Prempeh is a member of the Defense and Interior Committee and also a member of the Appointments Committee.[9]

Personal life

He identifies as a Christian[9] and is a grandson of the former Ghanaian president, John Kufuor.[19] He is divorced.[12]

In May 2022, a group by name Friends of NAPO presented some educational materials to schools in the Manhyia South Constituency to mark his 54th birthday.[20]

References
  1. "NAPO reacts to $1.2M World Bank cash controversy". Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  2. "Matthew Opoku Prempeh is Minister designate for Education". Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always. 10 January 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  3. "Napo Leads Covid-19 Stigma Fight". DailyGuide Network. 18 July 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  4. "Matthew Opoku Prempeh names library complex after late Queen Mother of Ashanti Kingdom". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  5. "Hon. Matthew Opoku Prempeh". Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  6. "Projects by government to solve energy crisis near completion – Matthew Opoku Prempeh - MyJoyOnline.com". www.myjoyonline.com. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  7. "Hon. Matthew Opoku Prempeh | Ministry of Energy". www.energymin.gov.gh. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  8. "Relocation of Ameri plant will stabilise power - Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh". Graphic Online. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  9. "Parliament of Ghana". www.parliament.gh. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  10. Annang, Adolphus. "Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh – Education - Government of Ghana". www.ghana.gov.gh. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  11. Forum, Education World. "Hon Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh - Speakers". Education World Forum. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  12. "Ghana MPs - MP Details - Prempeh, Matthew Opoku (Dr)". www.ghanamps.com. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  13. Ghana, ICT Dept. Office of Parliament. "Parliament of Ghana". www.parliament.gh. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  14. FM, Peace. "Ghana Election 2016 Results - Manhyia South Constituency". Ghana Elections - Peace FM. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  15. FM, Peace. "Manhyia South Constituency Results - Election 2020". Ghana Elections - Peace FM. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  16. FM, Citi. "Arts Minister Catherine Afeku makes it to Cabinet". ghanaweb.com. ghanaweb. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  17. "We've initiated 1,011 SHS projects since 2017— NAPO". Graphic Online. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  18. "We've invested over $800 million in education sector since 2017 – Matthew Opoku Prempeh". Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  19. "Kufuor Grandson Joins Race". ModernGhana.com. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  20. "Group donates to schools to mark NAPO's 54th birthday". Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
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