NPP Candidate Donates Cooking Stoves to Bekwai Constituents to Reduce Charcoal Consumption

Lawyer Ralph Poku-Adusei, a parliamentary candidate hopeful for the Bekwai constituency in the Ashanti Region, has given back to his constituents by presenting 5,000 improved clean cooking stoves. The gesture forms part of his efforts to reduce charcoal consumption in Bekwai and Ghana at large. According to the Ghana Energy Commission, over 75% of Ghanaians rely on charcoal/firewood as their primary source of cooking fuel, with Accra and Kumasi accounting for 57% of all charcoal consumed in the country.

Out of the 5,000 units, 1,000 will be given to NPP Bekwai constituency delegates under Lawyer Ralph Poku-Adusei’s flagship program known as the “Delegates Welfare Initiative”. The remaining stoves will be distributed to constituents in the Bekwai district. Mr. Alex Arko Addai Darkwa, Bekwai Chairman of the NPP, who received the items for onward distribution, commended the lawyer for the gesture.

In a press release dated April 3, 2023, the New Patriotic Party announced the approved timelines for holding presidential and parliamentary primaries of the Party for the 2024 elections. The party will open nominations for its presidential primaries on May 26, 2023, and close them on June 24, 2023. In the event that there are more than five applicants, the party will hold a “Special Electoral College Elections” on August 26, 2023. The National Congress to elect a flagbearer will be held on November 4, 2023.

The NPP also indicated that nominations for parliamentary primaries in orphan constituencies will open on June 16, 2023, and close on July 14, 2023. The elections will subsequently be held from Tuesday, August 1, to Saturday, December 2, 2023. For constituencies where the party has sitting members of parliament, nominations will open on Wednesday, December 20, 2023, and close on Thursday, January 4, 2024, with elections to be held on Saturday, February 24, 2024.

Mr. Poku-Adusei is expected to pick his forms as soon as the nominations open for the Bekwai constituency, which currently has Joseph Osei Owusu, the first Deputy speaker of Parliament as the sitting MP. The National Council of the NPP has barred National, Regional, and Constituency Party Executives, as well as all MMDCEs, from contesting in constituencies where the party has sitting members of parliament.

In conclusion, Ralph Poku-Adusei’s gesture is commendable, as it is aimed at reducing the over-reliance on charcoal and firewood, which contributes to environmental degradation and health problems. The NPP’s announcement of the approved timelines for holding presidential and parliamentary primaries for the 2024 elections provides an opportunity for party members to plan and prepare adequately for the primaries.