The Minister-designate for Defence, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, has clarified that his role as the Director of IT and Elections for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was not formal employment.

According to Dr Boamah, he took on the responsibility of director of elections for his political party after leaving Afra International in November 2022.

“Around that time, I needed to help my party organize the National Congress. After that, we also held our presidential primaries, during which I became the Director for Elections and IT,” he explained during his vetting by the Appointments Committee of Parliament on Tuesday, January 28.

When the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, inquired whether Dr Boamah had received a salary or allowances for his role, the nominee hesitated initially but later clarified.

He stated that while he did not receive a regular salary, he was occasionally given allowances for his work as director of elections.

He assured the committee that he had fulfilled all tax obligations related to those earnings.

“As Director of Elections and IT, occasionally, we were given allowances and I have also added that for that period, 2023 and 2024, I have ensured that the requisite taxes have been paid," he stated.

However, the Minority Leader pressed further, asking the Defence Minister-designate to confirm if his only source of income during that period was the occasional allowances from his party role.

Dr Boamah acknowledged that he also had investment income, though it had been impacted by the country’s ongoing economic challenges.

"I don’t know what you see as earning per your definitions but for instance, I have investments which I earned from some of which have been affected by the financial haircut.

“I put all these together as my earnings, not just the limited occasional allowance that we had," Dr Boamah explained.