Sammi Awuku appointed director general of the National Lottery Authority

The former youth organiser and current national organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sammi Awuku, has been appointed to serve as the director general of the National Lottery Authority (NLA). His appointment has been approved by the Council of State, in line with the law governing the appointment of the head of the NLA.

Until his latest appointment Awuku also served as the board chairman of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), a specialised government agency which has a mandate to co-ordinate and facilitate employment opportunities for young people in Ghana.

He is expected to resign from his position as NPP national organiser.

Awuku takes over from Kofi Osei Ameyaw, who was directed by President Akufo-Addo on 10 March 2021, in a letter signed by the Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante, to hand over to the finance director, Ernest Mortey. Osei Ameyaw’s one-year contract elapsed in February.

Awuku is joining the NLA months after staff of the Authority threatened to withdraw their services over challenges it was going through which led to non-payment of lottery wins for several months.

In March the workers also claimed that poor management of the Authority had resulted in an inability to pay salaries for the previous month. The National Labour Commission stepped in and directed the workers to abandon their threats.

Profile

Awuku, who is greatly admired for his passion and commitment to the NPP faithful, is a product of St Augustine’s College, Cape Coast. He is highly regarded for his work towards strengthening democratic governance and promoting youth empowerment, as well as his public sector management and institutional governance skills.

He holds a Master’s degree in international relations from the Freie Universität Berlin in Germany, a certificate in public leadership from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in the United States and a 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, a postgraduate certificate in advertising, marketing and public relations from the Ghana Institute of Journalism and a BA in political science and psychology from the University of Ghana, Legon.

Until recently, he was director of strategy and innovation at April-June Co Ltd in Accra and also a director of the Brain Hill International School. He has also served as a board member of the Accra City Hotel from 2017 to date.

Youth icon

In the past, Awuku has been elected three times to serve as the vice-chairman of the International Young Democrat Union (IYDU), an international association of the youth wings of centre-right 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 talent among young future leaders.

In 2014 he was named one of the top 50 rising African stars by the Paris-based Africa Report magazine. And in August 2017 he was declared “Continental Youth Icon” by the All Africa Students’ Union (AASU) in recognition of his long-standing contributions towards youth development on the African continent.

Apart from this, he has volunteered his services and provided strategic guidance at various points to assist the development of civil society platforms aiming to consolidate democracy and advocate public sector reform in Ghana.

National Lottery Authority

The NLA, where Awuku will be serving, is a public service institution designed to provide a corporate platform that encourages creativity, innovation and best management practice.

The Authority was first established as the Department of National Lotteries in 1958, with a mandate to organise prize raffles for the public. In 1960 the Lotto and Betting Act (Act 94) was passed into law to launch a lottery in Ghana with the aim of raising revenue to support national development.

Over the past 50 years, the NLA has evolved into an autonomous public service institution with a legal monopoly over the organisation of lotteries in Ghana. It is one of the single most important contributors to government revenue and avenues to employment.

In 2006 the passage of the National Lotto Act (Act 722) gave birth to the National Lottery Authority.

Work ahead

The NLA’s slogan is “Development through games”. Awuku will be expected to work with his team to make this a reality.

He will also be responsible for spearheading the NLA’s vision to create moments of hope and happiness through exciting lottery games which generate revenue for development and make all stakeholders winners.

Awuku is equally expected to lead reforms at the NLA in line with President Akufo-Addo’s vision to reposition the Authority as a major income earner and to create wealth for individual Ghanaians.

The NLA has as its declared mission to become the organisation of choice and blueprint for lotteries in Africa.

Wilberforce Asare

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