Francis Asenso-Boakye, Member of Parliament, is the Minister-designate for Works and Housing and the former Deputy Chief of Staff and Political Assistant to His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana. He had for many years served as the Political Assistant to President Akufo-Addo, the then-presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party.
A development planning, project management, and policy specialist and professional, Mr Asenso-Boakye has over 22 years of wide-ranging professional experience in his field. Prior to becoming a key member of the staff at the Presidency, he held positions at the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare (MESW) (as it was then called), Global Media Alliance (GMA), Delta Acquisitions and Development, Delaware, United States of America (USA) Michigan House of Representatives, Michigan, USA, Ghana Free Zones Board (GFZB), and Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC).
At MESW, he was a Development Communication Specialist for a programme to eliminate child labour in cocoa growing communities in Ghana. In that capacity, he served as Secretary to the Technical Working on child labour in the cocoa sector and the Joint Working Group of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire on child labour in the cocoa sector; led Ghana’s engagement with the United States Government and the chocolate industry on efforts to eliminate the practice; and coordinated the development of a Facilitators Manual on best practices that have become a blueprint for efforts to eliminate child labour on cocoa farms.
At GMA, where he was Project Manager, Mr Asenso-Boakye managed several of the company’s flagship assignments and projects, including Ghana@50 fireworks display at the Independence Square, the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2008 African Cup of Nations, CNN Africa Journalist of the Year Awards, and Africa Union Summit Media Centre. He also served as Lead Consultant for GMA’s event consulting work for the Government of Guinea for the Guinea@50 celebrations.
As a Project Analyst at Delta Acquisitions and Development, LLC, Delaware, USA, Mr Asenso-Boakye was responsible for monitoring and evaluating the company’s real estate acquisitions and development and oversaw the construction of 50 homes/duplexes in Dover, Delaware. In this role, he was exposed to and had first-hand experience in the planning and management of housing projects.
Mr Asenso-Boakye also served as a Policy and Research Associate in the Office of State Representative, Michael C. Murphy and to the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus – Michigan House of Representatives, USA, where his work focused on policy and legislative issues affecting the interests of African American and minority communities including the provision of decent and affordable housing. He drafted an Issues Book to serve as policy guidance for the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus. In 2005, in recognition of his exemplary service as a Legislative Staffer, he received a special Tribute from the Michigan House of Representatives.
He also previously worked as a Planning Officer at GFZB, where, as project manager for the Tema Export Processing Zone (TEPZ), he managed a $50m World Bank financed-project for the provision of off-site infrastructure at the TEPZ, including a road network, water storage, drainage and sewerage system. This experience gave Mr Asenso-Boakye an overview of the kind of works and infrastructure needed for development.
For his National Service, Mr Asenso-Boakye was a Research Analyst at GIPC, where he prepared product profiles for potential investors and also served as GIPC’s focal person for an Investment Survey on Ghana conducted by the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank. Through this experience, Mr Asenso-Boakye obtained deep insights regarding attracting investment in the critical areas of the economy, particularly the role that Foreign Direct Investment plays in the development of the country.
As Deputy Chief of Staff and Political Assistant to the President, he assisted the Chief of Staff at the Presidency in providing oversight of the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies in making sure that their plans and programmes are in sync with that of the Presidency.
He was also responsible for the management of the President’s engagement with the key stakeholders and political players across the country and ensured that the President visited every nook and cranny of the country, to inspect projects that were having an impact on the lives of Ghanaians. Through these visits, it became abundantly evident that after health, education and jobs policies, the next major policy that will have an impact in the lives of Ghanaians, both in the cities and rural areas, is the provision of affordable housing. Having had firsthand experience of the needs of the Ghanaian people for decent housing coupled with his vast experience over the years in, amongst other things, investment and management of housing projects, he willingly accepted his new portfolio and looks forward to assisting the President in leaving a legacy in the works and housing sector of the economy.
Mr Asenso-Boakye is a graduate of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, with a B.Sc. degree in Development Planning. He obtained his Master of Public Policy and Administration degree from Michigan State University, Michigan, USA, as a Rotary Scholar.
He is a former student activist and the founding president of the Tertiary Students Confederacy of the New Patriotic Party.
Mr Asenso-Boakye is married with three children.