John Dramani Mahama appointed his first group of ministers today, January 9, 2025.
It starts with Cassiel Ato Baah Forson.
Mr. Fosron has been designated as the Minister for Finance.
Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson is a tax practitioner, chartered accountant, and economist with a wealth of knowledge in macroeconomics, fiscal policy, public finance, taxation, and business management.
Dr. Forson is a five-term congressman who has earned Master of Science degrees in Economics and Taxation from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Finance from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, respectively.
Additionally, he graduated from London South Bank University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting.
He served as the National Democratic Congress Caucus’s Majority Leader in Parliament before this assignment.
He has two kids, is married, and identifies as Christian.
Macroeconomics, fiscal policy, tax administration and policy, finance, and company management are among his areas of specialization.
Dr. Forson is a tax expert with training from Oxford, having earned a Master of Science in taxes from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of taxes in Ghana.
In addition, he is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG) and has a Bachelor of Science in accounting from London South Bank University.
He graduated from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana, with a Master of Science in Economics and a Ph.D. in Finance.
Since 2009, Dr. Forson has served as a member of parliament for the residents of the Central Region’s Ajumako Enyan Essiam seat.
Dr. Forson became the Parliament’s Minority Leader in January 2023. He served for six years as the Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee before this. In addition to serving as Vice Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs from 2009 to 2011, he was a member of Parliament’s Finance Committee from 2009 to 2013.
From April 2013 to January 2017, Dr. Forson was the Republic of Ghana’s Deputy Minister for Finance, in charge of Treasury and Debt Management, Budget Preparation and Implementation, Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), External Resource Mobilization, and Tax Policy and Administration.
In addition to his role as Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Forson was Ghana’s Alternate Governor to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a member of the Bank of Ghana and Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) Board of Directors, and a member of the country’s Economic Management Team.
In 2015, Dr. Forson played a key role in negotiating the Ghana-IMF Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Program. Additionally, he supported the implementation of Ghana’s Public Financial Management Act 2016 (Act 921) as a model.
In the Ghanaian Parliament, Dr. Forson is presently the Leader of Government Business and the Majority Leader.
