20 Women honoured at Ghana Women of Excellence Awards
This year’s Ghana Women of Excellence Awards celebrated 20 women who, in the past year, distinguished themselves in their careers.
The occasion, organised by Top Brass Ghana, was under the chairmanship of a former Consultant of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, Nana Dr Baa Wiredu.
The ceremony was held to commemorate this year's International Women's Day.
The Executive Director of Salt and Light Ministries, Rev Dr Joyce Rosalind Aryee, an awardee and the guest of honour, observed that the Ghanaian economy ran on the grit and fortitude of Ghanaian women who were the backbone of the nation and were able to turn things around even under challenging circumstances.
Dr Aryee, who was honoured at the very first Ghana Women of Excellence Awards Ceremony in 2011, added that the prosperity and well-being of a nation depended on the family, which, more often than not, was run and administered by women.
She, therefore, stressed that empowering the Ghanaian woman for national development demanded not just the doling out of hand-outs but must be holistic to include interventions such as the provision of quality education, moving beyond basic literacy to digital and financial literacy and mentorship, as well as access to capital.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic on the sides of the awards ceremony, the Director of Top Brass Ghana and a former Director at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Isaac Dakwa, said the primary objective of the Ghana Women of Excellence Awards Scheme was to motivate Ghanaian women to strive for excellence in their various walks of life and to take their right places in the national development process.
Award winners
Among this year's award winners were the Managing Director (MD), Federated Commodities Plc (Agribusiness, Cocoa Marketing), Maria Adamu-Zibo; the MD, Zoomlion Ghana Limited (Environmental Sustainability), Doris Kwekwor Adjei; the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Safety Insurance Brokers Limited (Insurance Brokerage), Lena Adu-Kofi; the Vice- Chairperson, Public Services Commission (Institutional Management), Irene Stella Agyenim-Boateng; the President, Association of Women Accountants Ghana (Financial Management), Akua Bonsu-Owu, and Expert Manager, United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (Disability Rights Advocacy) Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame.
The others were the CEO, Ghana Tourism Authority (Corporate Communication), Maame Efua Houadjeto; the Chairperson, GTBank Ghana (Banking (Commercial), Irene Baaba Hagan; the Chairperson, Sefwiman Rural Bank Plc (Banking (Rural), Olivia Nyarkoa Kyeh; the General Manager, Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City (Tourism Promotion (Hospitality), Silvia Rajniak, and the CEO, Campaign for Female Education (Women's Empowerment), Fairuza Abdul-Rashid Safian.
Lifetime achievement
Lifetime Achievement Awards were conferred on Rev. Dr Joyce Rosalind Aryee (Mining / Public Service); the CEO, Jandel Limited (Event Management), Afi Amoro; the CEO, Azmera Restaurant (Tourism, Catering), Nana Krobea Asante; the Vice-Chancellor, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Tertiary Education and Scientific Research), Prof. Rita Akosua Dickson, and former President, Ghana Insurers Association (Insurance), Aretha Abena Abrafi Duku.
The rest were a former Deputy Inspector-General of Police (National Security), Elizabeth Mills-Robertson; the President, Women in Poultry Value Chain (Agribusiness, Poultry), Dr Victoria Afua Norgbe; a Paediatric Cardiologist, National Healthcare Cardiothoracic Centre (Paediatric Cardiology), Prof. Nana-Akyaa Yao, and the first female President, Ghana Bar Association (Legal Profession), Efua Ghartey.
