Cassiel Ato Baah Forson is a Ghanaian politician and member of parliament from 2009 to date. Dr. Forson first joined the Fifth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, before retaining his seat for the Sixth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, Seventh Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana and the Eighth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana representing the

Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam Ajumako/Enyan/Essiam District is one of the twenty-two districts in Central Region, Ghana. Originally created as an ordinary district assembly in 1988, which was created from the Breman-Ajumako-Enyan District Council from 1974 to 1978. The distr ...

Constituency in the Central Region on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). In 2013 he served as the deputy minister for Finance. He is currently the Minority Leader in Parliament of Ghana.

Early life and education

Dr. Forson was born on 5 August 1978 and hails from Ajumako Bisease in the Central Region of

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. He obtained a PhD in Business and Management (finance option) in September 2020 from the

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) is a public University of Ghana that focuses on science and technology. The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology is the public university established in the country, as well a ...

(KNUST) in Ghana. Prior to getting the doctorate, the MP had two master's degrees: A master of Science in Taxation from the University of Oxford, UK and another Master of Science degree in economics from KNUST. He had his first degree in accounting at the

South Bank University London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Elephant and Castle, London. It is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name. Founded in 1892 as the Borough Po ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Dr. Forson is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana and a fellow of

Chartered Institute of Taxation The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) is a registered charity (number 1037771) and the leading professional body in the United Kingdom concerned solely with taxation. The CIOT deals with all aspects of direct and indirect taxation. Activit ...

Career

Dr. Forson is a Ghanaian Legislator, Fiscal Economist, Chartered Accountant, Tax practitioner and Entrepreneur with professional experience spanning two decades in both private and public sectors. He was the managing director of Forson Contracts Limited in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. And he also served as the chief executive officer for Omega Africa Holding Limited.

Politics

Dr. Forson is a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). He has been the NDC member of parliament representative for Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam constituency since 2009. He is currently the Minority Leader

2008 elections

In 2008 he contested in the Ghanaian General Elections and won. He garnered 18, 593 votes which represents 51.66% of the total votes cast and hence defeated the other contestants including William Kow Arthur-Baiden, Alex Arthur, Rexford Mensah and Evans Addo-Nkum.

2012 elections

Under the ticket of the National Democratic Congress again, he contested in the 2012 Ghanaian General Elections and won by obtaining 24,752 votes which represented 52.67% of the total votes cast.

2016 elections

In 2016, he contested again in the 2016 Ghanaian General Elections and won again giving him the chance to represent his constituency for the third term. During the 2016 elections, he contested against Ransford Emmanuel Kwesi Nyarko, Jerry Henry Quansah, Sarah Mensah and Monica Daapong. He defeated them by obtaining 25,601 votes which represented 53.55% of the total votes cast.

2020 elections

In the

2020 Ghanaian general election General elections were held in Ghana on 7 December 2020. Incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was re-elected in the first round after securing a majority of the votes. Former President John Dramani Mahama says he ...

s, he again won the parliamentary seat with 39,229 votes making 58.1% of the total votes cast whiles the NPP parliamentary candidate Etuaful Rashid Kwesi had 28,229 votes making 41.8% of the total votes cast and the

NDP NDP may stand for: Computing * Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol * Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP * Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language Government * National Deve ...

parliamentary candidate Samuel Akombisa had 117 votes making 0.2% of the total votes cast.

Deputy Minister for Finance

In 2009 he became a member of the

Parliament of Ghana The Parliament of Ghana is the legislative body of the Government of Ghana. History Legislative representation in Ghana dates back to 1850, when the country was a British colony known as Gold Coast. The body, called the Legislative Council, ...

and served as the deputy minister for Finance in 2013. As deputy Minister he served as a member of Ghana's Economic Management Team. He has also served on several boards including that of the Bank of Ghana and Ghana Cocoa Board. He was also Ghana's Alternate Governor at the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

(IMF) and the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

. His expertise were also brought to light when he chaired the Committee that implemented the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System Reforms (GIFMIS).

Committees

Forson is a Ranking Member of the Finance Committee; a member of the House Committee; a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and also a member of the Committee of Selection Committee; special budget committee; House committee

Personal life

Forson is a Christian. He is married with two children.

Controversy

Forson was alleged to have caused financial loss to Ghana in a procurement of 200 ambulances between 2014 and 2016. An Accra High Court has ordered Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, Minority leader in Parliament, to open his defence in the €2.37 million ambulance case. In July 2023, Forson accused Afia Serwaa Asare Botwe, a Court of Appeal Judge and the Judge in charge of the case of not being fair to him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forson, Cassiel Ato Ghanaian MPs 2017–2021 National Democratic Congress (Ghana) politicians Living people Alumni of London South Bank University Politicians from Central Region (Ghana) Ghanaian MPs 2009–2013 Ghanaian MPs 2013–2017 Ghanaian MPs 2021–2025 1978 births