‘Shocked’ Bawumia pays tribute to late deputy finance minister Akoto Osei

Bawumia described the former MP as a very good friend and brother whose “dedication to serving mother Ghana was unpaired and his fidelity to the country’s development was unquestionable.”

The death of Akoto Osei at age 64 was confirmed on March 20 by a post on the official Facebook page of Parliament.

“Former Old Tafo MP, Hon. Dr Anthony Osei Akoto passes away. May he rest in peace,” Parliament’s post accompanied by a photo of the deceased read.

“I paid him a visit just a few weeks ago and was happy that he was doing much better. The news of his passing has therefore come as a complete shock. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.

“I am happy to have had a brother in you and to have worked with you. Rest in peace, my brother,” Bawumia’s Facebook post read.

Who was Dr. Akoto Osei

Dr Akoto Osei was in the cabinet of former President John Agyekum Kufuor as the Minister of State for Finance and Economic Planning.

Before becoming the finance minister under ex-President Kufuor, he served as the deputy minister for the sector.

In May, 2017, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo named Dr Anthony Akoto Osei as part of his 19 ministers who would form his cabinet as the Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation.

He was a former Member of Parliament (MP) for the Old Tafo Constituency in the Ashanti Region. While in Parliament, he served as the Ranking Member for the Committee on Finance, and a member of the Interior and Defence committees of the House.

He obtained a PhD from Howard University in 1987, a Master of Arts degree in Applied Economics from the American University in 1980. He had earlier obtained a Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree in Economics from Oberlin College in Ohio in 1978.

On 27 March 2002, he became a member of the Management Board of Merchant Bank (Ghana) Ltd. Previously, he worked as Associate Professor at Dollard University (USA) and previously as a Research Assistant at the Centre for Policy Analysis (Ghana).