Ama Benyiwa Doe was a good friend – President Akufo-Addo
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has paid tribute to the late former Central Regional Minister, Ama Benyiwa Doe, describing her as a good friend and a colleague in politics.
The former Central Regional Minister of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) passed away Sunday, September 19, 2021 at the International Maritime Hospital in Tema.
She was 73.
The late NDC firebrand was born Comfort Saah in 1948 and hailed from Gomoa Abora in the Gomoa West District.
In a Facebook post expressing his sadness about her death, he said, “I'm sad to hear about the news of the death of Ama Benyiwa Doe. She was a colleague in Parliament and a good friend. May her soul rest in perfect peace until the Last Day of the Resurrection, when we shall all meet again. Amen!!”
Meanwhile, the former President John Dramani Mahama has also described the late Benyiwa-Doe as an embodiment of limitless courage, commitment and passion for service.
In his tribute, he said Mrs Benyiwa-Doe was one of the most inspirational icons to have served the NDC, and the country.
“She was not only a politician, but also a gender activist and champion of women's rights,” he stated.
Political life
Mrs Benyiwa-Doe, who was popularly referred to as ‘Ama Chavez’ due to her vociferous nature in championing the course of the NDC during political campaigns and on political morning talk shows, was one of few women who stood out in the male-dominated political landscape.
She worked at the University of Ghana, Legon as a stenographer secretary who was later identified by the founder of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) and NDC, Late President Jerry John Rawlings.
The PNDC regime sponsored her to attend political school at the M.I. Kalilin Political College, Cottbus in the then German Democratic Republic. She later returned to become an active member of the PNDC and the 31st December Women’s Movement.
She was appointed as a deputy minister of Mobilisation and Social Welfare under the Rawlings’ administration from 1992 to 1996. Also, she served as a three-time Member of Parliament for the then Gomoa Constituency from 1992 to 2004 before losing the seat to Mr Joe Kingsley Hackman of the NPP.
She further served as the National Women’s Organiser of the NDC and managed to mobilise the women base for the party’s victory in the 2008 general election.
After late President John Evans Atta Mills won the 2008 elections, Mrs Benyiwa-Doe was appointed the Central Regional Minister for four years without a deputy minister.
In 2013, during the tenure of the regime of former President John Dramani Mahama, she served as a member of the Council of State, a position she held until the NDC lost 2016 general election to the then opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP).
