Abdul-Rashid Hassan Pelpuo

Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo has represented Wa Central in Parliament since 2005 and has served in the governments of three NDC presidents. In August 2026 President John Mahama moved him from the Labour Ministry to the Presidency as Minister of State for Special Initiatives.

Early life and education

He was born in May 1964 and comes from Wa in the Upper West Region. He studied economics and psychology, earned a master's in international affairs in 1998 and a PhD in development policy from the University of Ghana in 2013. Before politics he worked with the National Youth Council and as a consultant to the Institute of Policy Alternatives.

Parliament and government

He won Wa Central in 2004 with 51.3 per cent of the vote and has held it through every election since. Under President John Evans Atta Mills he was a Minister of State at the presidency and briefly Minister for Youth and Sports before becoming deputy Majority Leader. Under Mahama's first government he was Minister of State for Private Sector Development and Public-Private Partnerships. In opposition he chaired Parliament's Population and Development Caucus and led the Ghana branch of Parliamentarians for Global Action.

Labour minister

Mahama appointed him Minister for Employment and Labour Relations in February 2025. In February 2026 he urged the civil service union CLOGSAG to call off a strike over delays to its salary structure, and in July 2026 he said unemployment was beginning to fall. In the reshuffle of 26 August 2026 Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum replaced him at Labour.