President Akufo-Addo, on December 11, 2023, appointed John Boadu as the Director-General for the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA).
The announcement was made through a letter from the Office of the President and was endorsed by the President’s Executive Secretary, Nana Asante Bediatuo.
But before this appointment, in less than a month, SIGA officially appointed Ms. Hollistar Duah-Yentumi (Esq.) as its Acting Director-General. Her assumption of the role became effective on Monday, November 20, 2023.
This role was previously held by Stephen Asamoah Boateng, who stepped down as he sought the position of the National Chairman for the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
John Boadu’s recent appointment in accordance with the SIGA Act 2019 (Act 900) has left many questioning the president’s decision, as they believe the former NPP General Secretary lacks the qualifications to occupy such a role.
Ms. Hollistar Duah-Yentumi (Esq.) previously held the position of General Manager in charge of Operations at SIGA since its establishment in 2019. With a background in law and a wealth of experience, she has now been elevated to the crucial role of Acting Director-General.
Before her role at SIGA, Ms. Hollistar Duah-Yentumi served as the Executive Secretary of the former Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC), where she played a key role in designing and implementing strategies to uncover and recover state-owned assets that had been left unused.
Profile
Hollistar Duah-Yentumi is a lawyer and a journalist. She is a graduate of the University of Ghana where she obtained a degree in Law and Political Science, a Qualifying Certificate in Law from the Ghana School of Law, and a Master of Laws (LL. M.) from the University of Maryland’s Francis King Carey School of Law. A product of the University of Ghana Primary School and Achimota School, Hollistar also holds a Diploma in Journalism from the Ghana Institute of Journalism.
She is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Superior Court of Judicature of Ghana and a member of the Ghana Bar Association leveraging close to Two (2) decades of professional and entrepreneurial experience. She has business insights across multiple industries with large multinational corporations including the Global Energy Sector, Minerals and Mining Sector, Oil and Gas, Banking and Finance, Infrastructure Development and Corporate Law.
Hollistar had a brief stint as the Executive Secretary with the Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC) of Ghana where she persistently championed the turnaround of the then-defunct DIC through its revival and eventual merger with the State Enterprises Commission to become the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA). Prior to DIC, she was an Associate of the Legal, HR, and Corporate Advisory group at the MORGANBAUERS Y.E.S.
Earlier in her career, she served as Legal and Compliance Director of GO Green Canada Inc, where she led the Tax, Environment, and Natural Resources Divisions of the firm. She also worked with Zenith Bank Ghana Ltd, United Bank of Africa (UBA), and Prime Attorneys Ltd, a private legal firm.
Hollistar currently serves on the Board of DUYENT Global Inc. and Royal Ashanti Holdings Inc. and is the immediate past General Manager, Operations at the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA).
She is married with two daughters.
SIGA
The beginning of what is now the State Interests and Governance Authority, SIGA is traceable to the State Enterprise Secretariat (SES), which was incorporated in 1965 under a Legislative Instrument (L.I. 47).
The core mandate of the State Enterprise Secretariat was to promote within the framework of Government policy, the efficient and profitable operations of Statutory Corporations engaged in trade and industry.