Joseph Kodzo
Regional Commissioner for the Volta Region
In office
June 1965 – February 1966
PresidentKwame Nkrumah
Preceded byHans Kofi Boni
Succeeded byE. Q. Q. Sanniez
Minister for Health
In office
December 1964 – June 1965
PresidentKwame Nkrumah
Preceded byLawrence Rosario Abavana
Succeeded byOsei Owusu Afriyie 
Member of Parliament
for Krachi
In office
1965 – February 1966
Preceded byNew
Succeeded byBenard Kwaku Mensah
Member of Parliament
for Akan-Krachi
In office
1954–1965
Preceded byNew
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Member of Parliament
for Buem-Krachi
In office
1951–1954
Preceded byNew
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born
Joseph Kodzo

1916
Kete-Krachi, Volta Region
CitizenshipGhanaian
Alma materSt. Augustine's College

Joseph Kodzo was a Ghanaian educationist and politician. He was a Minister of state and a member of parliament during the first republic. He served as the Minister for Health from 1964 to 1965 and the Regional Commissioner (now Regional Minister) for the Volta Region from 1965. He was also the member of parliament for the Buem-Krachi constituency from 1951 to 1954, the member of parliament for the Akan-Krachi constituency from 1954 to 1965 and the member of parliament for the Krachi constituency from 1965 to 1966.

Early life and education

Kodzo was born in 1916 at Kete-Krachi, a town then Volta Region of Ghana (now in Oti Region), to Kodzo Emfrinne and Afua Kra. His early education begun at the Kete-Krachi Roman Catholic Primary School and the Roman Catholic Middle School in Kpando from 1925 to 1934.[1] He continued at the St. Augustine's Training College (now St. Augustine's College, Cape Coast) in 1935 to train as a teacher. There he obtained his Teachers' Certificate 'A' in 1938.[2]

Career

After training as a teacher, Kodzo returned to the Volta Region where he held teaching appointments for a period of 14 years. He resigned from the teaching profession in 1951 as the headmaster of the Roman Catholic Middle School in Kete-Krachi.[2][3]

Kodzo entered parliament in 1951 after winning the Buem-Krachi seat during the 1951 Gold Coast Legislative Election, which occurred on 8 February 1951.[4] In 1954, he was re-elected into parliament, this time, representing the Akan Krachi constituency from 1954 until 1965.[5] While in parliament he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Trade in November 1957.[4][6] The portfolio was later changed to Deputy Minister, and in 1959, he was made Deputy Minister of Health.[7][4][8] After about four years in this appointment, Kodzo was elevated to the post of Minister for Health in December 1964.[9] After working in that capacity for some months, he was made the Volta Regional Commissioner.[10] He remained in this appointment until the overthrow of the Nkrumah government on 24 February 1966.[8]

In 1969, Kodzo together with Hans Kofi Boni were sentenced to six years each imprisonment by the Accra High Court presided over by Justice Edward Kwame Wiredu. They were found guilty of inappropriate disbursement of funds of the then Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).[11]

Personal life

Kodzo married Mrs. Monica Akosua Kodzo in 1940. Together, they had four children.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Commission, Ghana Sowah (1968). Report of the Sowah Commission: Appointed Under the Commission of Enquiry Act, 1964 (Act 250) and N.L.C. Investigation and Forfeiture of Assets Decree, 1966 N.L.C.D. 72 to Enquire Into the Assets of Specified Persons.
  2. 1 2 Commission, Ghana Sowah (1968). Report of the Sowah Commission: Appointed Under the Commission of Enquiry Act, 1964 (Act 250) and N.L.C. Investigation and Forfeiture of Assets Decree, 1966 N.L.C.D. 72 to Enquire Into the Assets of Specified Persons.
  3. 1 2 Commission, Ghana Sowah (1968). Report of the Sowah Commission: Appointed Under the Commission of Enquiry Act, 1964 (Act 250) and N.L.C. Investigation and Forfeiture of Assets Decree, 1966 N.L.C.D. 72 to Enquire Into the Assets of Specified Persons.
  4. 1 2 3 Commission, Ghana Sowah (1968). Report of the Sowah Commission: Appointed Under the Commission of Enquiry Act, 1964 (Act 250) and N.L.C. Investigation and Forfeiture of Assets Decree, 1966 N.L.C.D. 72 to Enquire Into the Assets of Specified Persons.
  5. ↑ The Diplomatic Press Directory of the Republic of Ghana. Diplomatic Press and Publishing Company. 1960.
  6. ↑ The Diplomatic Press Directory of Ghana. Diplomatic Press and Publishing Company. 1959.
  7. ↑ The Diplomatic Press Directory of the Republic of Ghana, Including Trade Index and Biographical Section. Diplomatic Press and Publishing Company. 1961.
  8. 1 2 Commission, Ghana Sowah (1968). Report of the Sowah Commission: Appointed Under the Commission of Enquiry Act, 1964 (Act 250) and N.L.C. Investigation and Forfeiture of Assets Decree, 1966 N.L.C.D. 72 to Enquire Into the Assets of Specified Persons.
  9. ↑ Ghana News. Embassy of Ghana. 1964.
  10. ↑ Agency, United States Central Intelligence (1965). Daily Report, Foreign Radio Broadcasts.
  11. ↑ Ofori, Henry (29 July 1969). Daily Graphic: Issue 5,855 July 29 1969. Graphic Communications Group.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.