A private legal practitioner, Ralph Poku-Adusei, has declared his intention to contest in the governing New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) parliamentary primary in Bekwai in the Ashanti Region.
Mr Poku–Adusei, a lawyer with over 13 years’ experience, is hoping to clinch the ticket of the NPP during the primaries slated for January 20, 2024.
The Bekwai Constituency, a stronghold of the NPP, is currently being held by the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei Owusu, who has declared his decision not to contest again after 16 years in Parliament.
Vision
A UK trained lawyer, Mr Poku-Adusei is also a businessman with interest in real estate and financial services, as well as a philanthropist who uses his Poku-Adusei Foundation as a vehicle to support the poor and disadvantaged in society.
In an interview with the media, Mr Poku-Adusei said as an indigene of Bekwai who lived there during his formative years and constantly went back home, he understood the challenges facing the constituency, and as such was in the best position to help tackle those challenges.
According to him, when given the honour of serving the people of Bekwai, he would use his position as a legislator to lobby and work with other stakeholders to improve the livelihoods of the people of the constituency.
For instance, he said he would prioritise the improvement of education in the constituency as a foundation to break the cycle of poverty by increasing access and quality.
“My vision is to lobby the government and also use my own contacts and links in the private sector to get scholarships and sponsorships to enhance education in the Bekwai constituency,” he said.
Apart from education, he said he would also promote sustainable livelihoods by using his influence to attract businesses to Bekwai to increase employment, while also supporting entrepreneurship, skill development for job creation and sustainable development.
Another area, he said, was to lobby and get support for farmers to help improve healthcare and other infrastructural development in the constituency.
Mr Poku-Adusei said he had also observed that many people in the constituency became destitute in their old age due to the lack of pension or any social net to support them.
“When given the honour to serve, I intend to intensify pension education and encourage my constituents to contribute either formally or informally to SSNIT.
Further, I intend to set up a cooperative society for the benefit of the people,” he said.
Support for NPP
On why NPP delegates should elect him as the parliamentary candidate, Mr Poku-Adusei said he was a strong believer in the ideals of the NPP, and had consistently supported the party, especially in the Bekwai Constituency.
For instance, he said during last year’s Christmas celebrations, he donated more than GH¢200,000 and 1,000 bags of rice to members of the party in the constituency, including financial support for the aged members, and repeated a similar feat during this year’s Easter celebration by donating GH¢100,000.
With regard to support for the Bekwai Municipality, Mr Poku-Adusei said he had embarked on numerous interventions to support the development of the municipality, including the presentation of motorbikes to the Bekwai District Police, the renovation of an abandoned structure as offices for the National Ambulance Service, schools and the creation of jobs for about 300 youth through the Amansie Youth Project.