A Private Legal practitioner and Managing Partner at Trent Legal Amansie Chambers, Ralph Poku-Adusei has declared his intention to contest the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary primaries in the Bekwai Constituency in the Ashanti Region.
Having lived all his formative years in the Bekwai Constituency, Ralph Poku-Adusei, a British-trained lawyer is very determined to return to the Bekwai Constituency and to give back to it, being the place where he was socialized.
Even before he enters mainstream politics, lawyer Ralph Opoku-Adusei is said to be credited with several socially impactful projects in the Bekwai municipal area, which have gone a long way to improve the living standards and social connectivity of the inhabitants of the constituency.
Vision For Asante Bekwai Constituency
Lawyer Ralph Opoku-Adusei’s vision for his constituent is to create a society free from poverty, where everyone has access to the basic needs of life, chances for advancement, and the capacity to live ‘honourably’.
His vision is categorized into seven thematic areas which include Job creation, Poverty alleviation & livelihood improvement, Agriculture (commercial & mechanized), Infrastructure Development, Youth Employment, Education and Pensions.
To begin with, Lawyer Poku-Adusei has proposed to prioritise education to break the cycle of poverty in the Bekwai Constituency. His vision is to improve access to high-quality education for all children in the Bekwai Constituency and Municipality.
This will require improving infrastructure, providing scholarships, and implementing programs to improve educational outcomes.
He intends to do 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.
Again, Lawyer Opoku-Adusei has proposed a Sustainable Livelihoods Programme in which he intends to create an enabling environment and provide resources for entrepreneurship, skill development, and job creation to create sustainable means of livelihood.
To enable people and families to escape poverty, Lawyer Opoku-Adusei intends to set up vocational training facilities, assist small local enterprises, and provide access to microfinance programs, which according to him has already begun.
Furthermore, Lawyer Ralph Opoku-Adusei intends to work with stakeholders to improve social protection programs, build healthcare infrastructure, and advocate for preventative healthcare practices.
He plans to make healthcare accessible to his constituents by building CHIP compounds and to roll out other healthcare interventions to bring healthcare closer to his constituents, thereby reducing the pressure on the Bekwai Government Hospital.
Moreover, to enhance the quality of life for residents of the Bekwai Municipality, Lawyer Opoku-Adusei has proposed to concentrate on infrastructure development which involves enhancing transportation infrastructure, maintaining a steady supply of water and energy, toilet facilities, and funding sustainable housing programs.
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.
His objective is to establish a setting that promotes economic development and raises everyone’s standard of living.
In addition, as a legal practitioner, Lawyer Opoku-Adusei hopes to use Advocacy and Policy Reform to address structural problems that lead to poverty as he intends to ‘aggressively’ participate in lobbying and policy reforms.
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 Constituency and Municipality.
In conclusion, Lawyer Ralph Poku-Adusei also intends to address the issue of pensions as his observations indicate that a lot of people in his constituency retire from active service with or without any form of pension, and for those that do, it’s woefully inadequate.
He thus proposes to intensify pension education to encourage his constituents to contribute either formally or informally to SSNIT and also intends to set up a cooperative society for the people to benefit from it.
Meanwhile, Retired Commissioner of Police, George Alex Mensah has also declared interest to contest for the parliamentary seat on the ticket of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2024 general elections.
The seat is currently occupied by the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu, who has indicated earlier that he would not be running for re-election after representing the constituency for sixteen (16) years, in four different Parliaments (2008 to 2024).
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