Mrs Mary Boakye, former Berekum DCE, passes on

Burial and final funeral rites of the late Mrs Mary Boakye Nee Opoku, former Berekum District Chief Executive (DCE), will be held at Berekum on Saturday, February 8, 2020.

Born into the Asona Royal Kontire Family of Berekum and Senase, the late Mrs Boakye was a role model par excellence, an educationist and industrialist.

She was the first woman in the then Brong-Ahafo Region to obtain a Master’s Degree in Education at the Colorado State University, Fort Collins, United States of America, in 1969.

This was after obtaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History in 1967 at the University of Ghana, Legon.

She also became the first woman to occupy the DCE seat for the Berekum Municipality, the highest Local Government seat under the National Democratic Congress (NDC) regime in 1997-2001.

Under her watch as the DCE, in 1997-1998, the Berekum District, for two times running, won the award for the Cleanest District in the Region.

Again, in 1999, still under her distinguished leadership, the District won the prestigious National Award for the Cleanest District in Ghana.

The late Mrs Boakye also became the first woman lecturer in Education and the Head of Department (HOD) from 1969-1975 in the then Advanced Teacher Training College, Winneba, now University of Education Winneba.

Added to these, she had stints in the public service as the Inspector of Schools and Colleges, Ministry of Education, Inspectorate Division, Accra, between 1975 and 1979.

In the private sector, she was an industrialist in the Garment Industry and Interior Décor and later became a leading agro-processor adding value to most Ghanaian locally-produced agricultural products.

These include cashew nuts, for which she won a personal award from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture for her immense contribution to addressing post-harvest losses in Ghana.

The deceased, a gem in her generation, demonstrated her personal belief in education and pursued a myriad of academic programmes, making her versatile in many fields and impacting positively on the latter generation.

Key among these were certificates in Management, Development, Productivity, Business and Financial Management for Women (Women's’ World Banking).

Mrs Boakye died at age 76 and was married to Nana Boakye Boaman (Ing. Felix Boakye, the Chief Executive of Ages Limited) and Nkosuohene of Duayaw Nkwanta.

She is survived by a daughter, Lawyer Heidi-Marie Boakye of the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice, and six grandchildren.