PURC Chair Professor Thomas Mba Akabzaa Dies
The newly appointed Chairman of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) Board, Professor Thomas Mba Akabzaa, passed on at the University of Ghana Medical Centre on Thursday, April 17, 2025.
Prof. Akabzaa was recently appointed by President John Dramani Mahama to chair the eight-member PURC Board. He served as the committee chairman on the transition team for mines and energy.
He was a Professor at the Department of Earth Science at the University of Ghana. His academic work has been cited more than 2,289 times in mining, environment and natural resources. He wrote two books Boom and Dislocation:
Environmental and Social Impacts of Mining in the Wassa West District of Ghana and,
The Glittering Façade: Environmental and Health Impacts of Mining in the Obuasi Area.
He had served as the Chief Director for the Ministry of Energy from 2011 to 2017 and, adjudged the Best Performing Chief Director for the years 2013 and 2014. He also served as Board Chairman of the West African Pipeline Gas Pipeline Company Limited and member of a number of professional associations in State and other International institutions.
