Mahama appoints 68-year-old ex-MP as Deputy MD of State Housing Company

President John Dramani Mahama has appointed 68-year-old former Member of Parliament for Tain, Kwasi Agyemang Gyan-Tutu, as the Acting Deputy Managing Director of the State Housing Company (SHC)—a move that sharply contradicts the President’s own recent directive banning all post-retirement contract appointments within the public service.

The appointment, contained in an official letter dated 21st October 2025 and signed by the Secretary to the President, Callistus Mahama, informs Gyan-Tutu that he has been selected to serve in the acting capacity “pending receipt of the required advice of the governing Board.”

This development has raised eyebrows because it comes months after the Jubilee House issued a nationwide directive on 20th April 2025, suspending the granting of all post-retirement contract appointments for public servants.

That directive—signed by the same Secretary to the President—stated clearly that “the grant of post-retirement contract appointments to retired public service staff has been suspended with immediate effect,” and instructed all ministries, departments, and agencies to comply strictly.

Kwasi Agyemang Gyan-Tutu, born on 12 February 1957, is currently 68 years old, placing him well within the retired category the President had publicly committed to exclude from appointments.

He is a second deputy Managing Director of SHC after Samuel Atukwei Quaye who was earlier appointed a deputy MD to assist John Sheriff Bawah, Managing Director.

Bawah is believed to be the brother of Joyce Bawah Mogtari, Senior Presidential Adviser and Special Aide to President John Mahama

Gyan-Tutu, a seasoned politician, previously served as Member of Parliament for Tain in the Bono Region.

Despite this background, the President’s decision to appoint him to a senior management role at the State Housing Company appears to directly contradict his own policy stance against re-engaging retirees in public institutions.

This contradiction follows similar concerns raised recently when the President extended the tenure of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), despite initially announcing a freeze on all contract extensions.

The appointment letter, dispatched from the Jubilee House and copied to the Vice President, Chief of Staff, the Minister for Works, Housing and Water Resources, and the Board Chair of the State Housing Company, conveys the President’s “best wishes” to the ex-MP.

However, the decision is already fueling public debate about consistency, transparency, and fairness in government appointments—especially at a time when the administration has emphasized opportunities for younger professionals and pledged to end the recycling of aged public officials.

Political observers say the development may deepen scrutiny of the President’s commitment to his own reforms, with critics arguing that the latest appointment undermines the credibility of the earlier ban on post-retirement contracts.