John Kumah, Deputy Minister for Finance dies

The Deputy Finance Minister and Member of Parliament for Ejisu in the Ashanti Region, John Kumah, has passed away at the age of 45 after a brief illness.

He was on the floor of Parliament earlier this week and was scheduled to contribute to the debate on the SONA on Thursday and Friday.

He however visited his constituency in the Ashanti Region for the independence anniversary and his health condition deteriorated.

An ambulance was mobilised to transport him to Accra.

While on the way, his condition became very critical and the ambulance diverted to the Suhum Government Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

His remains has since been deposited at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra.

He leaves behind a wife, Apostle Mrs. Lilian Kumah and six children.

Known to his constituents as Lawyer John Kumah, he was widely regarded as a man of integrity who championed job creation and instilled hope for the future among both the young and old in Ejisu, in Ghana’s Ashanti Region.

Before entering politics, Mr. Kumah was the founding Managing Director of Majak Associates Ltd, a construction firm involved in projects across Ghana.

After qualifying as a lawyer, he established the Aduaprokye Chambers and served as the Managing Partner until his appointment as CEO of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP) in 2017.

During his tenure at NEIP, he supervised the training of 45,000 start-ups over three years through the Presidential Business Support Programme, which resulted in the creation of numerous jobs for young people nationwide.

With over 17 years of continuous working and leadership experience, Kumah was recognized for his creativity, innovation, and resourcefulness in job creation, entrepreneurship promotion, and youth development.

He was awarded the title of the Most Efficient, Prominent Government Appointee in 2018 and was listed among President Akufo Addo’s top 20 Most Humble and Respectful Appointees in 2019.

As a member of the NPP, Mr. Kumah had been involved with the party since 1992, starting from grassroots levels. He was the founding father of the Young Patriots, a youth political activist group within the NPP, and also served on the party’s Communication Team.

In his commitment to his constituents in Ejisu, he successfully secured substantial funding to implement various infrastructure and job creation projects in the constituency.