Private legal practitioner, Ralph Poku-Adusei, has declared his intention to contest the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary primaries in the Bekwai Constituency.
The move of Mr Poku-Adusei who is a Managing Partner at Trent Legal Amansie Chambers, is in line with the decision of the incumbent, Joseph Osei Owusu (Joe Wise) not to seek re-election after 16 years.
Joe Wise who is the First Deputy Speaker in Parliament has announced plans to bow out in 2024.
Vision for Amansie
Having lived all his formative years in Bekwai, lawyer Poku-Adusei, believes it is his turn to represent his people in the country’s law-making chamber and help transform the municipality.
This according to him is his own way of giving back to his society.
Ralph is credited with several projects in the Bekwai municipality, which have gone a long way to improve the living standards and social connectivity of inhabitants.
His vision for Amansie is to create a municipality free from poverty and the capacity to live honourably as espoused in seven key thematic areas which include; Job creation, Poverty alleviation & livelihood improvement, Agriculture (commercial & mechanized), Infrastructure Development, Youth Employment, Education and Pensions.
This will require improving infrastructure, providing scholarships, and implementing programs to improve educational outcomes.
He plans to execute this by lobbying through government and the private sector (local and international) through advocacy and a well thought through plan to get scholarships, recruitment slots and corporate sponsorships to enhance education in the municipality.
The aspirant has pledged to create an enabling environment and providing resources for entrepreneurship, skill development, and job creation in order to create sustainable means of subsistence.
Additionally, he plans to set up vocational training facilities, assist small local enterprises, and allow access to microfinance programs, which has already started.
Lawyer Ralph also appreciates the value of a strong social welfare system and easily available healthcare and will work in conjunction with pertinent stakeholders to improve social protection programs, build out healthcare infrastructure, and advocate for preventative healthcare practices.
CHIP compounds and other healthcare interventions will be rolled out to bring healthcare closer to the constituents, thereby reducing the pressure on the Bekwai Hospital.
Infrastructure development is on top of the agenda for lawyer Ralph to enhance the quality of life for residents.
This involves enhancing transportation infrastructure, maintaining a steady supply of water and energy, toilet facilities, and funding sustainable housing programs.
His objective is to establish a setting that promotes economic development and raises everyone’s standard of living.
He further proposes to drive both local and foreign investors to the constituency to put up recreational centres, Shopping malls, Manufacturing companies and tertiary institutions to boost economic activities and subsequently address the issue of Youth unemployment in the constituency.
As a lawyer, he hopes to use Advocacy and Policy Reform to address structural problems that lead to poverty and will aggressively participate in lobbying and policy reform.
He intends to collaborate closely with governmental institutions, civil society groups, and local authorities to establish laws and policies that advance social justice, lessen inequality, and end poverty in the Bekwai Municipality.
Lawyer Ralph also intends to address is the issue of pensions due to the low rate of beneficiaries in the area.
He will therefore intensify pension education and encourage constituents to contribute either formally or informally to SSNIT alongside a cooperative society.
Political interventions
He has embarked on a number of interventions in the area in support of the party and constituents largely members who are no longer active due to old age and ill health.
Notably, lawyer Ralph provided financial support to Bekwai NPP Constituency executives to embark on a “Thank You Tour” after the internal primaries in 2022.
Municipal support
At the Bekwai municipal level, lawyer Poku-Adusei has a long list of inter-positions that have come in handy to support the indigenes.
To commemorate his 41st birthday, he distributed 5,000 improved clean cooking stoves to constituents to support the clean cooking agenda of the government.
He has also immensely supported sports development through the provision of jerseys, and financial assistance towards various tournaments.
The disabled federation, over 300 youth as well as the Bekwai District Police have all benefited from his corporate social responsibility.
Profile of Ralph Poku – Adusei
Throughout his years as a legal practitioner, he has successfully advised and represented both local and international clients working in Ghana.
He is a member of the Ghana Bar, the Bar of England and Wales, and the International Bar Association. Ralph’s alma maters include; The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, UK; Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Law, UK (formerly The College of Law of England and Wales, UK) Ghana School of Law, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana among others.
He doubles up as an entrepreneur with 15 years in business leadership, the founder and chairman of the Board of Directors of First Cedi Investment Ltd, a real estate development company domiciled in the Greater Accra Region.
Ralph is also the proprietor of FirstCedi Micro-Credit Enterprise, which provides lending services to the communities within and around the Bekwai municipality in the Ashanti Region of the Republic of Ghana.
He is a relentless optimist, an effective communicator, and a motivator who identifies and leverages assets in teammates to reach organizational goals.
Notwithstanding his academic and entrepreneurial prowess, Ralph Poku-Adusei is a philanthropist who believes in giving back to society hence, he set up a nongovernmental organization in 2018 called the Poku-Adusei Foundation to provide humanitarian support services to the poor and the needy/less privileged in the society.
This organization has been a great support to the orphans, widows, widowers, and the aged in the Bekwai community in the Ashanti Region. Ralph Poku-Adusei hails from the Oyoko family of Kokofu in the Ashanti Region.
He is married to Mrs. Gloria Poku-Adusei is blessed with two 2 children; a daughter and a son.