How a nation turned its back on its golden athlete, Martha!
When she was thrown into the fierce, highly combative 800m race of the 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing-Jiangsu, China, only a handful may have given her any chance of upsetting the apple-cart.
At best, the barely 17-year-old girl – Martha Bissah, was expected to garner some experience – good enough to gird her loins stronger for the challenges ahead.
Wrong! We got it all wrong! Perhaps, it was Martha alone who believed in herself – and knew what she could offer the world.
As fate may have it, the young dazzling athlete, who had earlier won a bronze medal at the 2014 African Youth Games, blew the world apart in the 800m event by swatting aside formidable competition from Ethiopia and Germany.
It was a golden Himalayan moment as the Ghanaian was celebrated worldwide with her performance attracting rave reviews in the world’s media. Indeed, she was touching the sky, unpredictably, after recording a personal best, a new national record of 2:04.90 – and most importantly the nation’s first Olympic gold medallist at any international event.
In appreciation of Martha’s sterling effort, President of the day John Mahama invited the golden girl to the Jubilee House (seat of government) and presented her a cash award of GH¢10,000, received by the Ghana Athletics Association (GAA) boss – Professor Francis Dodoo.
It was a huge joy to the athlete, mum, family and her coach Sergeant Isaac Lamptey.
But, desolately, that joy was later to evaporate into a thin air of pain, agony, frustration and betrayal as Martha was later astonishingly splashed with an indefinite suspensionfor allegedly impugning some members of the Association’s executives with bribery.
It was alleged that the Professor Dodoo-led athletic body had demanded to have a portion of Martha’s cash.
Though she initially vehemently rejected making any claim for fear of victimization, the now 23-year-old swashbuckling athlete now says she stands by her earlier story. Martha may have had enough of the GAA bluff.
“I want to be remembered as the young girl who spoke the truth – not lies,” she remarked in a recent interview.
Truth is that we have not been fair to the athlete who has brought the country honour and fame. The poor girl has remained ‘on ice’ for six years – six years of heart-rending torture – and nobody cares? Nobody ready to mediate and find a lasting panacea to this imbroglio!
Passionate appeals to the former Minister for Youth and Sports, Mr Isaac Kwame Asiamah – and other big shots to intervene in the matter, and have her suspension reversed, have all fallen on stony ground.
Ideally, the Dodoo administration should have put together an independent committee to investigate the alleged claim by Martha Bissah, instead of unprofessionally acting as judge, jury and ‘slayer.’
What kind of crime has she committed that should attract this ruthless penalty? Is her offence drug-related? If we are serious as a country ready to develop sports, this matter should have been resolved long ago and put to rest.
It is refreshing to hear that an individual has now taken the matter to World Athletics (international governing body for the sport of athletics) and the Court for Arbitration in Sports, to conduct a snake-pit inquisition into it and come out with a verdict.
This step should have been taken long ago to salvage the girl’s future.
On this note, huge credit must be given to the former chairman of the GAA, George Haldane Lutterodt, and ex-national athlete Kwaku Nimako, Martha Bissah who assisted Martha to gain full scholarship worth $32,000 to study at the Norfolk State University (NSU) in Virginia USA, in August 2016.
The divine intervention came at a time the athlete was contemplating taking an early shower from the sport. As we speak today, Martha last December successfully graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at the NSU.
In the course of her academic pursuits, too, the 800m and middle distance star established herself as an outstanding athlete for the Spartans (NSU athletics team).
Matter-of-fact, Martha became the first known Spartan to win three straight NSU Female Athlete of the Year awards in 2019; clinched a three-time Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference cross country champion, as well as setting indoor and outdoor records over 800 metres, 1,500m, 3,000m and 5,000m.
Martha has made another fervid appeal to the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC), led by Ben Nunoo Mensah and the current Youth and Sports Minister, Mustapha Ussif, to intervene in her case.
Let us see what becomes of it, too. The torture must end – for the golden girl cannot wait to compete for Ghana again.
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Martha Bissah – Can’t wait to compete for Ghana
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Sam George authorises dismissal of about 100 Ghana Post staff over irregular recruitment
Communications Minister, Sam George, has authorised the dismissal of nearly 100 staff of the Ghana Post Limited, citing an irregular recruitment process.
The affected staff members were employed after the December 7, 2024, election, a period during which the minister says proper procedures were not followed.
Speaking about the decision, Sam George expressed his commitment to clearing the ministry of individuals whose recruitment was not in line with the established protocols.
He stated that as the head of the ministry, he could not work with staff members whose employment was marred by irregularities.
“If you are a minister and you take over a ministry that has 3,117 staff in the ministry and its agencies and 600 were recruited after December 7, you cannot expect me to come and inherit such a mess, and so the rationalisation is ongoing,” he told the press on Tuesday.
He added, “Today, I have authorised a termination of a few more at Ghana Post, almost 100 that were done post-election.”
The Communications Minister explained that the irregular recruitment had created a situation where positions were filled without following due process, leading to inefficiencies within the department.
The Ningo-Prampram legislator emphasised that he is on a mission to “Clean up the ministry to make sure that it is lean and efficient and carries out its works.”
The government has been reverting many post-election employment in the public sector, which it says was done without following the laid down procedures in various sectors of the economy.
Source: myjoyonline.com
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High Commissioner of Barbados to Ghana pays courtesy call on Minister of Health
The High Commissioner of Barbados to Ghana, Juliette Byone-Sutherland, paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, to discuss key issues in the health sector.
During the meeting, Mr.Akandoh highlighted the need for increased funding to ensure the effective implementation of healthcare processes.
To address the challenges faced by health workers in rural areas, the Minister mentioned a proposed package of incentives, including an additional 20% of their basic salaries, quicker promotions, and scholarships for further training.
He also emphasised the importance of providing steady leave with pay to encourage health workers to remain in these areas.
Mr.Akandoh stressed the need for six additional hospitals to cater to the new regions created in Ghana. He also discussed plans to upgrade regional and teaching hospitals to attract more skilled health workers.
In response, High Commissioner Byone-Sutherland expressed her appreciation for the Minister and the government’s efforts to improve the health sector.
She also suggested that nurses from Barbados could benefit from health training programmes in Ghana, gaining practical experience in the field.
This courtesy call highlights the importance of collaboration and knowledge sharing between countries to improve healthcare outcomes.
The Ministry of Health remains committed to addressing the challenges faced by health workers and ensuring that Ghanaians receive quality healthcare services.
