The legislators on the floor of the house on Thursday said Dr Grant served the country selflessly and dedicated her life to the promotion of the cause of women and children in the country.

[contextly_sidebar id=”RzaOeFgjUSUJh2QuDQFN83eut6GvPvxh”]Haruna Idrissu, the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, who delivered a statement on the floor of the house said the late Dr Mrs Mary Grant’s influence and legacy went beyond the health sector and social protection.

She said as a member of erstwhile Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) who served as the Deputy Secretary of Health, and later became the Minister of Education and Culture, she fought for the adoption of various social protection programs for the country to protect vulnerable women and children.

Haruna Idrussu said, “our new generation of health professionals will be infected by her dedication and will to be more than ready for the future. For those of us in politics, her professionalism backed by a strong conviction and wit will remain the major lessons for us and for many Ghanaian girl-child, she will forever remain an inspiration.”

She expressed hope that the youth of the country will be inspired by her “dedication, resourcefulness and farsightedness.”

Benjamin Kumbour the Minister of Defense recounted the many times he encountered the late stateswoman and received encouragement as well as guidance from her to when he served as a health ministers years ago.

Sarah Adjoa Sarfo, the Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya said the principles and virtues exhibited by the late Mary Grant must resonate with Ghanaians and upheld.

“I believe that as a country it should just end with a tribute in parliament, a state burial and the ceremonial aspect of it but this great woman who has contributed her part to the development to the country should remain in our minds as far as her principles were concerned and we shouldn’t just build statues and memorials and speeches but whatever she stood for in politics, we must keep it in mind and uphold it,” she said.

Other parliamentarians including Joseph Yileh Chireh, Raship Pelpuo and Richard Anane called on Ghanaians to emulate the dedication and selflessness demonstrated by the late stateswoman in her service to the country.

The Speaker of Parliament, Edward Doe Adjaho led at he house to observe a minute’s silence to her memory.

‘Dr. Mary Grant passes on at 88’

Dr. Mrs. Mary Grant, passed away at age of 88 on 18th September, 2016. Family sources said she died at the 37 Military Hospital.

She left behind two of her own children, and four adopted  ones.

President John Dramani tweeted about her death, describing her as a “great woman of our modern era,” hours after news about her death broke.

Dr. Mrs. Mary Grant was awarded at the Ghana Women Awards, the premier awards ceremony aimed at celebrating the success of women of excellence in various facets of the society.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Parliament eulogizes Dr. Mary Grant appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

They said Dr. Grant would greatly be missed because she had great ideas on the development of Ghana and touched many lives.

Speaking during a courtesy call on the family of Dr. Grant, who passed away on September 18, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings said Dr. Grant’s “impatience” and strong desire to get things done was the major motivating factor, which encouraged President Rawlings to want to work with her.

The former First Lady said Dr. Grant had interests in health, sanitation and drainage issues and was always pushing to get such projects implemented.

The late Dr. Mary Grant was a former member of the erstwhile Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC); and former member of the Council of State.

She passed away at age of 88 at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra. She left behind two of her own children, and four adopted ones. President John Dramani tweeted about her death, describing her as a “great woman of our modern era.”

Dr. Mrs. Mary Grant was appointed in 1989 among the last batch of PNDC members until the PNDC was dissolved on the 7th of January 1993. She was in charge of general affairs.

While with the PNDC, Dr. Grant held many positions including a Deputy Minister of Health, and later became the Minister of Education and Culture and also a Member of Council of State.

She was until her death considered as one of the people who later fell out with Mr. Rawlings.

In 2012, she was awarded at the Ghana Women Awards, the premier awards ceremony aimed at celebrating the success of women of excellence in various facets of the society. Her award was presented to her by Mr. Rawlings.

Family life

Dr. Mary Grant is a sister to the late Paa Grant, a merchant and politician in the Gold Coast, who has been called “the father of Gold Coast politics”. Paa Grant, a political activist, was a founder and the first president of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) in 1947, with the goal of achieving self-government.

Professional career

Dr. Grant, an old student of Wesley Girls, is the first Wesley Girls High School Alumni to be a medical doctor. She has led Ghana’s delegation to several international conferences such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) General Assemblies in Geneva, World Bank Meeting in Africa Health,WHO Regional Conferences in Africa, Cairo Conference on Population and Development among others. She was among Ghana’s delegation to the Beijing Conference on Women’s Rights.

At the 39th Annual General Conference in 1997, the Ghana Medical Association awarded her a Certificate of Honour for her concern for welfare of doctors. As a medical practitioner, she had been critical of health workers who embark on strikes at the expense of human lives. In May 2007, she told the Ghana News Agency (GNA), that health workers must see themselves as members of a health brigade with the sole mission of saving lives but never as death squads.

“The health profession is different from all others, since it deals with diseases and health, life and death. Therefore, anyone who does not feel strongly that what he/she has to do is to help people recover from illnesses and to prevent people from dying unnecessarily must not enter the health service.

At all times health workers must place the love and affection for the patient above their self-interest”, Dr Mary Grant said in the interview. She was however concerned about the poor remuneration for medical practitioners at the time, and chastised successive governments for lacking the will to deal decisively with the problem.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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