Sammy Awuku having interactions with the management and staff of the authority
The National Organiser of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Samuel Kwabena Awuku has officially started his job as the new Director-General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA).
Mr. Awuku on Monday arrived at the High Street NLA Head office to begin his work.
He was officially welcomed by the management and staff of the Authority which he held a series of meetings.
He told the staff to cooperate with him to move the NLA forward, explaining he not there to sack workers or inherit someone’s enemies.
On his Facebook page, he wrote “Good start at the Fortune House today. Great interactions with both Management and Staff at the Authority in our bid to increase revenue for Ghana. #wecandoit”.
Even though, as National Organizer of the NPP, he is expected to officially resign from his current party position before he takes over the new role but no official statement has come out from his outfit yet.
Mr. Awuku was appointed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to replace Kofi Osei Ameyaw whose contract expired in February as the new Director-General of the Authority.
He served as Board Chairman of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) and was Vice Chair of the Young Democrats Union (IYDU), an international association of the youth wings of conservative parties across the world.
He is joining the NLA months after staff of the authority threatened to withdraw their services over challenges the authority was going through that led to the non-payment of lottery wins for several months.
The workers in March 2021 also said the poor management of the authority also resulted in the inability to pay wins for February 2021.
The National Labour Commission subsequently stepped in and directed the workers to abort their threats.
Awuku, who is extremely admired by many for his strong passion and genuine commitment towards NPP party faithful, democratic governance, youth empowerment, public sector management, and institutional governance, is a product of St. Augustine’s College, Cape Coast.
He holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations from the Freie University, Berlin-Germany, an Executive Education Certificate in Public Leadership from Harvard University, (Kennedy School of Government) USA, Diploma of Higher Education in Law from the University of London.
He also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Public Administration from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), a Postgraduate Certificate in Advertising, Marketing, and Public Relations from the Ghana Institute of Journalism, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Psychology from the University of Ghana, Legon.
Mr. Awuku until recently was a Director of Strategy and Innovation at the April-June Company Limited in Accra and also a Director at the Brain Hill International School, East Legon.
He has also served as a Board Member of the Accra City Hotel, from 2017 till date.
In the past, he has been thrice elected as the Vice Chairman of the International Young Democrats Union (IYDU), an international association of the youth wings of conservative parties across the world.
He is also a proud alumnus of the American Council for Young Political Leaders (ACYPL), a global platform for identifying and nurturing the talents of young future leaders.
In August 2017, he was named “Continental Youth Icon-2017” by the All Africa Students’ Union (AASU) in recognition of his long-standing contributions towards youth development on the African continent.
Similarly, in August 2014 he was named amongst the top 50 rising African stars by the Paris-based Africa Report Magazine.
By Daniel Bampoe