In 2017, two sons of one of Ghana’s most senior political figures, Yaw Osafo-Maafo were appointed as Deputy Director at two state institutions. Yaw Osafo-Maafo is a senior figure in the NPP and has served in both NPP governments in the Fourth Republic. He was the Senior Minister at the time his two sons, Kofi Bosompem Osafo-Maafo and Kwadwo Gyamfi Osafo-Maafo were appointed to positions at SSNIT and NCA respectively.
In 2019, the National Communications Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi accused the Senior Minister of securing his sons’ top positions in two of the government’s best companies. Yaw Osafo-Maafo responded to the accusation with explanations of why his sons deserved the positions.
“My sons are overqualified for the offices they are occupying at the moment. One of them was one time the only black Director of the HSBC Bank at the age of about 35 years,” Osafo-Maafo explained.
He added that his son “was actually poached to come and do the work here and not just because he’s my child. He made first-class twice in Michigan in the US, he was given a job, he later said he was fed up with staying in America and so came back home to Ghana. He lectured at Ashesi University and you can ask Ashesi for his performance,” Osafo-Maafo said as per MyNewsGH.com.
The former Finance Minister argued that his sons topped the interviews for the job, thus, they earned the appointments, not given. He asked if people have to suffer or be treated less because they bear the name “Osafo-Maafo.”
“They advertised for the job at NCA and I think he topped the interview. No one should suffer because he’s the child of Osafo-Maafo. If the person is good, he’s good. Why should it be a disadvantage to be an Osafo-Maafo?”
“Kofi had returned home abroad after schooling and was looking for a job prior to his appointment at SSNIT. Kwadwo, until the advent of the Akufo-Addo government, was working as a Computer Science Lecturer at the Ashesi University College,” he emphasized his son’s qualifications.