The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has appointed Napaga Tia Sulemana, a Presidential Staffer as Coordinator for Special Development initiatives.
This follows the scrapping of the Ministry for Special Development Initiatives (MSDI) as part of measures by government to decrease the number of Ministries and Ministers under the second term of the Akufo-Addo government.
Prior to the new development, the SDI Ministry was responsible for the 3 Development Authorities including the Northern Development Authority (NDA), Middle Belt Development Authority (MBDA) and the Costal Development Authority (CODA) which will be coordinated under the Coordinating Secretariat at the office of the President.
Other projects that were taken care of by the defunct ministry were implementation of the infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Program (IPEP) such as one Village one Dam(1V1D) ,One million dollar per constituency and many other governmental policies.
The appointment is effective January 8th 2021 but was communicated in a letter dated 17th June, 2021 and signed by the Chief of Staff.
The Secretariat will serve as a Coordinating Unit between the 3 Development Authorities and the Presidency.
It is also to ensure that the President’s priority projects such as digitization and implementation of IPEP are successful.
Profile of Napaga Tia Sulemana
Napaga Tia Sulemana, was among Nana Addo’s first set of appointees in his first term as President in 2017 and was assigned to the office of the President as one of his closest Aides.
She hails from Nantong in the Northern Region and was an instrumental figure in the Northern Regional Campaign team for election 2020.
Napaga Tia is a Developer by training. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University for Development Studies (UDS) where she pursued Integrated Development Studies (IDS).
She also holds a Master of Arts Degree in Conflict, Peace and Security from the Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Centre.
Napaga is seen as a role model to many young women and the youth in general.
This new appointment is expected to help her serve Mother Ghana to the best of her ability.
