Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, has expressed shock at news of the passing of former Member of Parliament for Old Tafo and deputy finance minister, Anthony Osei Akoto.
Dr. Akoto, was on admission at a private facility in Accra from where he was referred to a tertiary hospital, where he passed on Monday.
Bawumia described the former Member of Parliament 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 late Monday, 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: “…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.
Moreover, others have also taken to social media to express how they feel about the passing of Dr. Anthony Osei Akoto. Since the announcement was made, a number of sitting Members of Parliament have used social media to express their condolences to the bereaved family, whiles celebrating the legacy of the former lawmaker and minister.
“One of the few men who took it upon themselves to tutor me in the ways of House & the rudiments of law making and the mechanics of legislative drafting in the 7th Parliament. You were such an outstanding Parliamentarian. Fare thee well, sir,” National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor tweeted.
“Rest well, snr…Oh God,” Nsawam-Adoagyiri MP and Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, also tweeted. Both lawmakers posted a photo of the deceased.
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 formed his cabinet as the Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation.
He was also 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.
Dr Anthony Akoto Osei was born in Sunyani, the capital of Bono Region then Brong Ahafo Region on 18 April 1953. He had his secondary level education at Achimota School and Opoku Ware Senior High School.
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).
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