Raphael Abolasom Kumah, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for the Bole-Bamboi constituency in the Savannah Region, has vowed to snatch the seat from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the first time in the 2024 election.
He said the next election in Bole-Bamboi will not be a business as usual for the NDC, as he will mobilise the electorate, especially the youths, to secure a resounding victory for the NPP.
The policy, planning and management expert, who contested the recent NPP primaries and thrashed his contender, expressed confidence that the level of support he had received from the party’s sympathizers and members, as well as executives, in the constituency, was an indication the NPP is poised to snatch the seat from the NDC.
Speaking to The Achor over the weekend in an interview, the former University for Development Studies (UDS) Students’ Representative Council (SRC) president said, the NDC’s dominance in the area, compared to the performance of successive Members of Parliament (MPs), was nothing short of failure and complete disaster.
This, he stressed, cannot continue forever, and therefore the narrative has to change with an introduction of new energy and dynamic leader to give hope to the people.
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“We stand for change, we stand for a new energy and we want to change the narrative of Bole-Bamboi when I’m given the mandate,” he said.
According to him, winning election is hinged on unity and togetherness, therefore he will lead a united front to wrest the parliamentary seat from NDC.
He indicated that, there are a litany of challenges confronting the constituency, paramount among them being infrastructure, lack of jobs and opportunity for the youth.
He said the situation has been lingering with little or no effort by the incumbent MP, Yusif Sulemana, at tackling them.
“There are a lot of challenges in the constituency as we speak. Bole-Bamboi deserves standard markets, women economic empowerment initiatives, development of the roads linking the rural communities to the markets among others,” he said.
He further said, “infrastructure development is a problem, we talk about education and that is also a problem, we talk about job creation, and agriculture is a problem. Our tourism potential hasn’t been utilized, and this is what we stand for and want to change the narrative.”
In the primaries, Raphael Abolasom polled 407 votes, representing 70.05%, to thrash his main contender and 2020 parliamentary candidate, David Sei Demah, who garnered only 172 votes, representing 29.60%.
Interestingly, Raphael, in 2018, contested the primary with his opponent, David Sei, but lost narrowly with 62 votes.
He told this paper that, he will not relent on his effort until he snatches the seat for his party, the NPP having been working tirelessly for it.
Profile
Raphael is a versatile and innovative young man who hails from Bamboi in the Bole-Bamboi Constituency of Savannah Region. He is humble, result-oriented, and unifying figure who remains an inspiration to a lot of people.
He looks forward to taking up new roles and responsibilities that challenge him to maximize his capabilities whilst contributing massively to the development of communities and Ghana at large.
Education:
Raphael attended Saint James Seminary in Sunyani and proceeded to the University for Development Studies (UDS), Tamale where he obtained a bachelor’s degree. He served as President of the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) during this period and etched his name in the history of the school as one of the best SRC Presidents to have ever served.
Raphael continued his education at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) where he obtained a Master of Public Administration (MPA) Degree. Without relenting on his efforts, he successfully pursued a second master’s degree, Master of Public Health (MPH) Degree at the University of Ghana, Legon where he specialized in Planning, Policy, and Management.
Raphael also pursued a Professional Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety where he successfully graduated and majored in Oil and Gas Management from the Wisconsin International University College of Ghana.
Raphael is also pursuing another master’s degree in project management at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).
Work Experience:
Raphael is a Policy, Planning and Management Expert who combines a diversity of professional skills in the past and present in areas of Health, Public Administration, Project Management, and Quality Assurance Systems.
He has experience in applied research, feasibility studies, supervision, and performance assessment of development interventions. He currently is the Project Officer in charge of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company’s Component of the World Bank Project P171933: Ghana Landscape Restoration and Small-scale Mining Project under the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Ghana.
The World Bank-funded Project is aimed at strengthening the regulatory framework for ASM, focusing on modernizing regulatory instruments and building the capacity of key government agencies involved in ASM regulation and compliance monitoring whilst at same time providing support for ASM formalization and mainstreaming into EITI reporting in Ghana to provide public insight into revenues from the country’s mineral resources by ensuring accountability.
Raphael since 2018 has had the opportunity to periodically work with the National Health Insurance Authority as an External Clinical and Compliance Auditor where the focus is on the adherence to the provision of quality health care services to users by health institutions. In 2017, as a clinician, he worked with the Ghana Health Service at the Bono Regional Hospital, Sunyani at the Accidents and Emergency Unit as well as the COVID-19 Treatment Centre.
He has gained and exerted a significant amount of knowledge and experience working with the Centre for Social Innovations, Ghana, as the Project Coordinator for the Northern and Bono Regions in 2015 where he was responsible for building business and corporate partnerships for CSI programmes.
In his early days, Raphael worked with the Ghana Education Service in 2009 as a Teacher at Saint Alexander Roman Catholic Junior High School, Bamboi where He taught Mathematics and mentored the form three (3) Pupils as they prepared for their Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
Politics:
His service to New Patriotic Party (NPP) begun at a tender age as a “Poster boy” in 2000, a member of TESCON who rose to become the SRC President of the University for Development Studies, Tamale.
He has been a formidable support system to TESCON and its members particularly whilst He was on campus. He has always manifested a deepened resolve and passion for the progress of the party.
His contribution to the party cuts across a significant length and breadth of this country. He was an integral part of the Professionals’ for Change (P4C) 2016 Campaign in the Brong-Ahafo and Ashanti Region where free medical outreaches as well as “door to door” campaigns were a constant routine of the era.
He solely financed the first ever free medical screening in Bole-Bamboi Constituency [Chibrinyoa and Jama-Nsuano] in 2016. He has been the Party’s agent in previous elections, and has served as a polling station Youth Organizer at the Bamboi Zongo Polling Station and again as a Polling Station Secretary in Bamboi Zongo Station B.
Again, he contested in the NPP Parliamentary Primaries in 2019, together with the Constituency Secretary and Constituency First Vice Chairman and placed second and lost by sixty- four (64) votes.
Raphael even after he lost out in the primaries still played an integral role in the constituency in the run up to election 2020 where he made donations of T-shirts, Hair-Dryers, Posters, Bags of Cement towards the construction of the Constituency Party Office and again financing door to door campaigns as well is free Medical Screenings in Chibronyoa and Tinga in the Bole-Bamboi Constituency.
Raphael was a member of the Bole-Bamboi Constituency election 2020 Campaign Team and a member of the Savannah Regional election 2020 campaign team.
Raphael also played a lead role in the outreaches organized by the NPP Medical Team in Bono and Bono East Regions under the auspices of the NPP election 2020 Steering committee on health. He also spearheaded and coordinated the campaign activities of the volunteer group “ALPHA PATRIOTS” in the Savannah Region of Ghana as the Regional Coordinator.
He has written and published many articles to propagate and project the works of the NPP. Raphael is a member of “ASPIRANTS UNITE FOR VICTORY 2020” (AU4V) and played an active role in its activities. AU4V is a group of all Parliamentary Candidate aspirants who lost in the Parliamentary primaries in the various constituencies in Ghana in the run up to election 2020.
