Joseph Kofi Adda


Joseph Kofi Kowe Adda was a Member of Parliament in Ghana and also the Minister for Energy in the New Patriotic Party government under President John Kufuor. He is also a Financial Economist and a Management Consultant. He is currently the Minister for Aviation.

Early life and education

Joseph Adda was born at Navrongo, the capital of the Kassena-Nankana District in the Upper East Region of Ghana. He had his secondary education at St. John's School, Sekondi and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in politics and economics from the Indiana Wesleyan University, Marion, Indiana, United States, which he attended between 1979 and 1982. Between 1982 and 1984, he was at Columbia University, New York, where he studied for a Master's degree in International Affairs, specialising in Finance and Banking. He went on to get a graduate certificate in African Studies from the same university. In 1989, he obtained a certificate in French language and civilization from the Sorbonne University, Paris, France.

Career

Joseph Adda is a Financial Economist and a Management Consultant. He worked as an Executive officer at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ghana in 1979. Between 1983 and 1984, he worked as a Research Analyst intern at the Third World Trade Institute, New York, USA. Over the next two years, he was an account Executive and Management trainee at the Equitable Financial Service, Inc., in New Jersey, USA. Mr. Adda has also worked at Essex County College, Newark, New Jersey, USA, Thomson McKinnon Securities Inc., New York and with Deloitte and Touche Consulting,, Accra. Since 1994, Joseph Adda has been the Director of Omni Consulting International Ltd. Between 1996 and 2000, he worked in various capacities at the Ministry of Finance, Ghana. He is the Minister for Aviation. He took the leadership of the ministry in 2018.

Politics

Adda first became a Member of Parliament in 2003. He won the by-election for the Navrongo Central constituency after the death of the incumbent, John Achuliwor. He retained his seat in the 2004 parliamentary election. He was appointed the Minister for Manpower Development and Employment by President John Kufuor in 2005. On 28 April 2006, he was moved in a cabinet reshuffle to the position of Minister for Energy. He was later replaced by Felix Owusu-Adjapong as Minister of Energy by President Kuffuor. Joe Adda retained his seat when the NPP lost the general elections in 2008. He however lost the seat in the 2012 elections to Mark Woyongo.

Cabinet Minister

In May, 2017, President Nana Akufo-Addo named Joseph Kofi Adda as part of nineteen ministers who would form his cabinet. The names of the 19 ministers were submitted the Parliament of Ghana and announced by the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Prof. Mike Ocquaye. As a Cabinet minister, Joseph Kofi Adda is part of the inner circle of the president and is to aid in key decision making activities in the country.

Family

Joseph Adda hails from Navro-Pungu Wusungu. He is the son of Felix Adda and his second wife.