A member of the communication team of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Prince Henry, has said the former Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah is the best running mate to the flagbearer of the NDC, John Mahama, for the 2024 polls.
He believes Julius Debrah, an entrepreneur turned politician is competent to unite the party ahead of the 2024 elections.
Earlier, Julius Debrah disassociated himself from speculation that he was being considered as a running mate.
He said he’s not interested in such a position and called on the various interest groups and individuals to desist from giving the flagbearer of the NDC pressure to choose his running mate emphasising that Mahama will make his choice at the right time.
The speculation about Debrah’s potential candidacy for running mate to Mahama began in recent weeks after a number of interest groups and individuals mentioned his name in the media.
Debrah served as Chief of Staff to then-President John Mahama from 2015 to 2017.
Profile background of Debrah
He hails from the Obomeng Kwahu in the Eastern Region of Ghana. He was born on April 24, 1966, at Suhum to James Debrah an Agriculturalist who retired as the Regional Cocoa Officer of the Eastern Region, and Kate Opokua, a trader. He is married with three children.
Julius studied for his GCE O’level Certificate at Mpraeso Secondary School and then at the Achimota School where he obtained his GCE A’level certificate.
He holds a BA (Archaeology/Sociology) and an MA in Archaeology specializing in Museums & Heritage Studies both from the University of Ghana, Legon.
Prior to joining active politics, Julius started and developed several businesses in Tourism and Hospitality, Insurance, Automobile Inspectorate, Banking, Construction, Water a Beverages, Real Estate, Broadcasting, and Agricultural Sectors. And continues to work with other entrepreneurs to create more jobs.
In active politics, Julius has held positions as the Propaganda Secretary and the Regional Chairman of NDC in the Eastern Region from 2001-2012.
In public service, he was the Executive Director of the Ghana Tourism Authority (2009-2012), Regional Minister for the Eastern and Greater Accra Regions (2013-2014), Minister for Local Government and Rural Development (2014-2015), and the Chief of Staff to President Mahama (2015-2017).
Julius believes in using practical solutions to solve many of the social problems in Ghana as compared to Textbook solutions which most of the time do not take into consideration some of the societal variables that arise as a result of the constant changes to our social and cultural structure and demography.
He is remembered for his practical solutions to the Street Naming Exercise and National Sanitation Exercises when he was the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development.
As a leader he believes in teamwork and the act of tapping on the potential of his subordinates to achieve results.
His interest in Tourism Development and promotion led him to study Sociology and Archaeology at the University of Ghana and his further studies of Archaeology at the Master’s level with specialization in Museums and Heritage studies.
He has led and conducted many tours in Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, Guinea, Senegal, and The Gambia.
He is one of the most sought-after tour leaders in the tourism circles in West Africa. Subsequently, he became a JICA alumina and studied Sustainable Tourism Development in African Countries at the University of Ryukus in Okinawa, Japan in 2011 under the TICAD IV sponsorship.
He also did further studies and excavations in Norway at the Norwegian University of Science & Technology (NTNU)in Trondheim, Norway in 2018.
Source: EMMANUEL TORNYI