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 the government to decrease the number of Ministries and ministers under the second term of the Akufo-Addo government.

Hitherto, the Ministry for Special Development Initiatives was responsible for the three development authorities including the Northern Development Authority (NDA), Middle Belt Development Authority (MBDA), and the Coastal 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 the implementation of the infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Program (IPEP) such as one Village one Dam(1V1D), One Million dollars per constituency, and many other government priority projects.

The appointment, which took effect January on 8th 2021, was communicated in a letter dated 17th June and signed by the Chief of Staff.

The Secretariat will serve as a coordinating unit between the three 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.
Napaga Tia Sulemana’s Profile

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 the closest aides to the President.

She hails from Nantong in the Northern Region and was an instrumental figure in the Northern Regional team.

Napaga Tia is a developer who holds a bachelor’s degree from the University for Development Studies (UDS) where she studied 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.

The young politician played a critical role in the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Northern Regional Campaign in 2020 that gave the National Democratic Congress(NDC) a run for its money.