A cross-section of Effia residents describe it as little wonder that their Member of Parliament, Joseph Cudjoe, has won the Outstanding Public Leadership-Minister of the Year Award, Public Sector, considering his towering and significant strive at engendering a holistic economic development of residents of his constituency and at the national level for the past eight years.
Joseph Cudjoe was the recipient of the Minister of the year-outstanding Public Leadership – Public Sector award in recognition of his outstanding contributions and exemplary leadership that has seen the impressive transformation of state-owned enterprises and invariably a commendable contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at the recently held 8th Ghana CEO Summit in Accra.
“This is in recognition of your outstanding leadership, business excellence, and professionalism demonstrated over the past year in Ghana,” a citation for him read in part.
For residents of Effia, the dedication and commitment of Joseph Cudjoe, for the past eight years, to a journey of engendering the wholistic development of the constituency has seen the birth of several infrastructure projects, including school blocks, which have contributed to increased enrolment, recreational centres, roads, which have opened up Effia, the provision of streetlights, which has led to improved security; water projects that have solved acute water challenges, scholarships aimed at enhancing human resources; and many others.
A sample of telephone calls to radio stations in Sekondi–Takoradi after the event supported the Summit’s choice of Joseph Cudjoe as the most deserving of the award.
“I live at Windy Ridge, and for years, we have been struggling with getting potable water for our daily use. It was commonplace to see several residents early in the mornings and evenings trekking to other areas to fetch water. Now, that is no more because of the intervention by Hon. Joseph Cudjoe. I have seen that he is extending similar support to other areas. For this singular effort, Windy Ridge will be forever grateful. So, I was not surprised when I heard the news of his award. He deserves it,” a resident of Windy Ridge said.
Francisca Tandoh narrated how Joseph Cudjoe came to her aid to pay the fees of her ward, who had gained admission to the University when all her options had run out.
“I went to Joseph Cudjoe’s office with my heavy burden. While in his constituency office, I saw about twenty parents with the same request, and I almost lost hope, considering the queue and number of requests. Now, I say with all praise that Joseph Cudjoe supported me. I heard the others I met were all supportive as well.
“I recently learned that the Astroturf pitch idea, which is contributing significantly to the unearthing of some incredible football talents, was mooted by Joseph Cudjoe. The first Astroturf pitch built by the Akufo Addo government is the one at the police park in Effia. He deserves applause for that”, Ackah–Bonsu of Top Ridge said.
Antwi-Boasiako, a resident of State Housing, spoke of his knowledge of the number of persons that Joseph Cudjoe has supported to be in school and to start their own business, some of whom are now doing business beyond Sekondi-Takoradi, stressing that “indeed, Hon. Joseph Cudjoe has been exceptional since he became our MP.
Beyond his work at the constituency level, Joseph Cudjoe has championed and seen to the implementation of several initiatives that have led to significant feats at the Ministry of Energy, where he served as the deputy minister in charge of Finance and Infrastructure, and at the Public Enterprises Ministry, where he currently serves as the substantive minister.
At the Energy Ministry, he played many pivotal roles, including his initiation of the World Bank-funded Energy Sector Recovery Program (ESRP), which has become key to the stabilization of the energy sector.
In his current position as Minister for Public Enterprises, Joseph Cudjoe has initiated the Public Enterprises League Table (PELT), which ranks the performance of public enterprises.
As Minister for Public Enterprises, Hon. Joseph Cudjoe has also worked hard to get the public enterprises to prepare audited accounts, and this has facilitated intensified scrutiny and oversight of public enterprises by the Parliamentary Select Committee responsible for state enterprises.
Minister Cudjoe has visited more than fifty (50) public enterprises to have direct interactions with their respective managements to discuss ways of improving their performances and service delivery.
He has also led the inauguration of two key policies for managing the portfolio of public enterprises by SIGA. In the words of Minister Cudjoe himself, “More has been done better and faster using less resources.”
The CEO Excellence Award-Honors segment of the Summit acknowledges, celebrates, and highlights the accomplishments of CEOs, state officials, and businesses.
The Outstanding Public Leadership Award honours individuals who exemplify exceptional business practices, achievements, and leadership qualities. The prestigious accolade acknowledges their significant role in driving economic growth and making meaningful contributions to the overall economy.
The theme for the 8th Summit was “REIGNITING BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: CHARTING A PATH FORWARD; Economic Diversification and Artificial Intelligence Transformation. A Private-Public Sector CEO Dialogue & High Impact Learning.”
