| Hon. Yaw Osafo-Maafo | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Akim Oda[1] |
|
| In office 7 January 1997 – 7 January 2009 |
|
| Preceded by | Nana Boaten-Abora |
| Succeeded by | Yaw Owusu-Boateng |
| Majority | 23,461 |
| Minister for Finance and Economic Planning | |
| In office February 2001 – 7 January 2005 |
|
| President | John Kufuor |
| Succeeded by | Kwadwo Baah Wiredu |
| Minister for Education and Sports | |
| In office February 2005 – April 2006 |
|
| President | John Kufuor |
| Preceded by | Kwadwo Baah Wiredu |
| Succeeded by | Papa Owusu Ankomah |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | Ghanaian |
| Political party | New Patriotic Party |
| Profession | Engineer and Project Analyst |
Yaw Osafo-Maafo is a Ghanaian politician.
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An engineer and a project analyst by training, he established his credentials as a banking and finance leader by heading and successfully restructuring two major Ghanaian banks, the Bank for Housing and Construction and the National Investment Bank between 1979 and 1992.
He has been a Consultant to the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the United Nations Development Programme. He is the past Vice-President of the Executive Committee of the West African Bankers Association, and a founding Deputy Chairman of the Ghana Stock Exchange.
He has served as Chairman and a board member on a number of corporations including Nestle Ghana Limited, National Trust Holding Company, Merchant Bank Ghana Limited, National Development Planning Commission, Divestiture Implementation Committee and Donewell Insurance.
He is a former Member of Parliament for Akim Oda, Ghana.
He was appointed Minister of Finance in February 2001 and later Minister of Finance and Economic Planning during the Kufuor Administration.[2] He held this position until January 2005. At the Ministry of Finance he oversaw the dramatic turnaround of the Ghanaian economy. In November 2001 he was named Finance Minister of the year with his Canadian counterpart Paul Martin by the World Economic Forum and Finance Minister of the year 2001, Africa, by the “Banker Magazine”, a Financial Times publication.
Between 2005 and 2006 he was Minister of Education and Sports, where he commenced the implementation of major education sector reforms aimed at improving the quality of basic, secondary and tertiary education. The reforms also sought to align the education system with the needs of the broader economy. He implemented the new free basic education referred to as the Capitation Grant.
With respect to sports, his reorganization and restructuring of the finances and management of football in the country played a significant part in helping Ghana qualify for the 2006 World Cup. This was the first time Ghana had done so in her history.
Although no longer serving in the government, Osafo-Maafo campaigned for the New Patriotic Party in the 2008 runoff elections.[3]
Osafo-Maafo is currently working as a consultant for the World Bank advising the Ministry of Finance and the Legislature of the government of Liberia. He is a fellow of the Ghana Institution of Engineers and an Honorary Fellow of the Ghana Institute of Architects.
Since leaving the government, he has been critical of Ghana's government on issues such as the salaries paid to government officials and the selling of government lands.[4][5]