Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh
Minister for Energy, Ghana
Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, is the Minister for Energy and the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Manhyia South constituency in the Ashanti Region.
At the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), he obtained a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Human Biology in 1992 and a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MB,ChB) degree in 1995. After serving as a House Officer at the Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital from 1995 until 1997, Dr. Prempeh continued his education at the Erasmus University in The Netherlands, obtaining an M.Sc in Clinical Epidemiology in 1998. He proceeded to the United Kingdom to work, becoming a member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Glasgow in 2002. He returned to Ghana in 2003 to pursue a career in business and politics.
Following the victory of the NPP in the 2016 general elections, Dr. Prempeh was appointed by President Akufo-Addo as Minister for Education from 2017 to 2021. During his tenure, he successfully led the team at the Ministry to deliver on the flagship education programme of the government, the Free Senior High School programme, to wide admiration even from his political opponents. His team also delivered on curriculum reforms, teacher reforms and several initiatives to promote and mainstream Technical, Vocational Training and Education (TVET), among others.
In the aftermath of the NPP’s victory at the 2020 general elections, President Akufo-Addo nominated Dr. Prempeh to serve as Minister for Energy. He has since championed various major projects including ensuring 100% electricity access rate by 2024 (current access rate is 87.03%); renegotiation of Power Agreements; the revamping of Ghana’s cylinder manufacturing company and improvement of the cylinder recirculation model to meet Ghana’s clean energy goals; the establishment of a petroleum hub; revision of local content legislation, improving the efficiency of electricity producers and distributors; and relieving the energy debt stock of Ghana through the Energy Sector Recovery Programme (ESRP).
He is also a Harvard Scholar and an alumnus of the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program.