When Sammy Awuku, Member of Parliament (MP) for Akuapem North, took to Facebook to raise questions about the dual appointments of Emefa Donkor, many assumed it was routine political commentary.
What has since emerged, however, is a far more serious matter—one with direct legal implications for the Mahama administration.
Beyond the optics of one person holding two powerful government positions lies a troubling issue that strikes at the very legality of the arrangement.
Section 4(1) of the Tourism Act, 2011 (Act 817), is explicit: the Chairperson of the Board of the Ghana Tourism Authority must be drawn from the private sector. It is not a suggestion; it is a statutory requirement.
Parliament deliberately enacted this provision to ensure that the GTA’s leadership reflects the industry it serves and remains insulated from direct state influence.
Emefa Donkor, as Chief Executive Officer of GoldBod Jewellery, a state-owned enterprise, is, by definition, a public-sector official. She exercises public authority, manages public resources, and derives her mandate from the state. Under any reasonable legal interpretation, she does not qualify as a private-sector representative under Act 817.
This is the legal landmine that Awuku’s Facebook post has effectively detonated.
Yet, as this legal question remains unanswered, thousands of qualified Ghanaian professionals in tourism, hospitality, travel, event management, and the creative arts continue to watch from the sidelines.
Many have spent decades building careers in the private sector and contributing to the very industries the GTA was established to promote. They are precisely the kind of people the Tourism Act had in mind when it mandated that the Chairperson be drawn from the private sector.
The Ministry of Tourism has remained silent. The Presidency has yet to offer an explanation. And the Ghana Tourism Authority continues to operate as though no question has been raised.
