Mahama appoints Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings and Mahama Ayariga in ministerial reshuffle

President John Dramani Mahama has nominated Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings and Mahama Ayariga to new ministerial positions as part of a reshuffle that also includes the reassignment of two serving ministers.

Dr Agyeman-Rawlings has been nominated as Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, while Mr Ayariga has been named Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs.

The nominations were made in accordance with Article 78(1) of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution and were submitted through the Speaker of Parliament. Both nominees must receive parliamentary approval before they can be formally sworn into office.

Kenneth Gilbert Adjei, who has been serving as Minister of Works, Housing and Water Resources, will move to the Ministry of Defence.

Ahmed Ibrahim, the Member of Parliament for Banda, has been reassigned from the Local Government Ministry to take over the Works, Housing and Water Resources portfolio. The reassigned ministers are expected to begin work in their new roles immediately to maintain continuity in government business.

The changes were announced in a statement issued yesterday by Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the President’s Spokesperson and Minister of Government Communications.

The appointments provide substantive ministers for Defence and Environment, Science and Technology for the first time in a year. The previous ministers responsible for those portfolios died in the helicopter crash on 6 August 2025.

Until now, Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson had also overseen Defence following the death of Dr Edward Omane Boamah. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, had meanwhile held additional responsibility for Environment, Science and Technology after the death of Dr Murtala Muhammed.

President Mahama’s reshuffle is intended to strengthen his administration and support the effective delivery of the government’s development programme. Parliament is expected to vet the nominees in due course.

Mr Ayariga’s move to government will also lead to a change in Parliament, where he currently serves as Majority Leader. The National Democratic Congress has named James Agalga, MP for Builsa North, as his successor in the legislature.

Ayariga, born on 12 May 1974, represents Bawku Central in the Upper East Region. He is a lawyer whose political career spans more than two decades.

He became Presidential Spokesman to President J.E.A. Mills in 2009 and later held ministerial responsibilities. During the first term of President Mahama’s administration, from 2012 to 2016, he served first as Minister of Information and Media Relations and later as Minister of Youth and Sports.

Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, 48, is the three-term MP for Klottey Korle in the Greater Accra Region. A medical doctor, she studied at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

She entered politics in 2015 ahead of the 2016 elections and has since become a prominent voice within the NDC, with a focus on urban development, healthcare and youth empowerment. She is the daughter of former President Jerry John Rawlings.

Mr Ibrahim, 52, is serving his fourth term as MP for Banda, having won successive elections since 2012. He holds an Executive Master’s degree in Governance and Leadership and has extensive experience in legislative processes and public administration.

He is regarded as an experienced strategist within the NDC caucus and helped oversee the transition of his constituency from Tain to Banda Constituency.

Mr Adjei is a career civil servant and security analyst with experience in government administration and project management. He served as Deputy Minister of Defence during the first term of President John Dramani Mahama’s administration, from 2012 to 2026.

He is known for his technical approach to security-sector policy and governance implementation.