Charles Lwanga Puozuing

Charles Lwanga Puozuing is a Ghanaian lawyer and politician, approximately 47 years of age at the time of his appointment, who serves as the Upper West Regional Minister in the government of President John Dramani Mahama. A member of the National Democratic Congress who served as the Upper West Regional Secretary before his ministerial appointment in 2025, he brings legal training and party organisational experience to one of Ghana's most geographically remote and development-challenged regions.

Background and party service

Puozuing's professional identity as a lawyer is reflected in his formal title, which consistently references his legal qualification. His engagement with the NDC at the regional level built the organisational credibility that preceded his nomination as Upper West Regional Minister-designate by President Mahama on 21 January 2025. The Upper West Region, with its predominantly agricultural economy, significant outward migration of youth to southern Ghana and persistent infrastructure gaps, presents a regional minister with development challenges that demand both political will and practical administrative capacity.

As Upper West Regional Minister

He was vetted by Parliament's Appointments Committee and officially received in the Upper West Region with the formality due a new minister. During the vetting process and his early public engagements, Puozuing identified youth migration from the region as one of the central challenges he intended to address. His strategy for tackling the drift of young people southward in search of economic opportunity focuses on creating sustainable employment and skills development in the region itself, through coders and apprenticeship programmes that can equip young men and women for productive work locally. He has also pointed to agriculture as a vehicle for youth retention, proposing to leverage the farmer services centre initiative outlined in the NDC's 2024 campaign manifesto to make farming a more commercially attractive and supported livelihood for young Upper Westerners. He has pledged to operate an open-door administration, making the regional coordinating council accessible to all who wish to contribute constructively to the region's development.

Political Legacy

Charles Lwanga Puozuing's appointment to lead the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council places a legally trained NDC organiser in a ministerial role where the twin challenges of youth retention and agricultural development require both the administrative authority of regional government and the political relationships that his party service has helped him build. His emphasis on skills, farming and an inclusive administration reflects the practical priorities of a region that has long needed more focused executive attention.