-And two others
By A. A. Yayra
Contrary to the Biblical quotation in Mark 6:4 that “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home,” the Chiefs and people of La in the Greater Accra region have honored three illustrious sons from the La Traditional Area for their exceptional leadership.
Those honored included, Mr. Sylvester Mensah, Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority, Hon AmasahNamoale, Member of Parliament for La Dadekotopon and a former Deputy Minister of Agriculture and? Professor Ablade Glover, an accomplished scholar, renowned International Artist and former lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University College of Science and Technology (KNUST).
The honor, which was conferred on them by the Abese Divisional Council of the La Paramountcy was in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the development of the country in diverse ways.
The awards ceremony under the theme, ?Unity and Development? is organized annually by the people La to honor illustrious sons of the La Traditional Area who have excelled in various fields of endeavor.
The NHIA boss was eulogized as a true son of La, who has brought pride and dignity to the people of La since his entry into the public service for the past 25 years.
Professor Ablade Glover on the other hand was celebrated as an accomplished scholar, renowned international artist and former lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University College of Science and Technology (KNUST) whiles Hon. Nii Amasah Namoale was recognized for the developments he has brought to the La Dadekotopon constituency as an MP.
Speaking at the awards ceremony at Majaano, which forms part of activities to mark the celebration of this year?s La-Afrimi Yam festival, an elder of the Abese Division Council, Nii Anang Kwao praised the NHIA boss for playing a vital role in letting Ghana?s health financing scheme attract international commendations and also bringing respite to the poor and needy.
Mr. Mensah, also a former Member of Parliament for the La Dade Kotopon constituency according to Nii Anang Kwao, has distinguished himself in his various capacities as a ?lecturer, finance professional, banker, politician, strategic management expert, social worker and social health insurance technocrat.?
He said it was not by chance that Mr. Sylvester Mensah was identified by thepeople of La led by the Abese Divisional Council of the La Paramountcy as an illustrious son of the La Traditional Area, but it is also for his immense contribution to the development of health insurance in the country.
?As Chief Executive of the National Health Insurance Authority from 2009, you are credited with far-reaching organizational restructuring, innovations, and initiatives to reform the NHIS; you have improved efficiency, contained cost, and are implementing measures to secure the long-term future of the scheme. Your tenure at the helm is marked by the development of a new vision, mission and strategic direction for the Scheme,? Nii Kwao observed.
The contributions of Mr. Sylvester Mensah since he took over the NHIA as CEO is not in doubt as he has introduced numerous and remarkable changes in the running of the scheme that has made it a model not just on the African continent but the World as a whole.
Among others, it is evident that under Mr. Mensah?s stewardship at the NHIA, the Scheme has emerged on the international healthcare landscape as a model of health care financing for countries in the developing world and beyond, underscored by numerous study tours of the NHIS by delegations from foreign countries and institutions, seeking to learn from Ghana?s experience.
Through the hard work of him, the NHIA has established a call center, he has also led the way to have the scheme moved from a Mutual and District Health Insurance to a National Health Scheme to the extent that the Authority has started with a pilot program to register subscribers biometrically, an initiative that will later be rolled out on a full-scale across the country.
In charting out a new strategic direction, and instituting reforms and initiatives, Mr. Mensah?s administration introduced a Clinical Auditing mechanism in the management of the NHIS financing, which is?driving cost-efficiency in the running of the NHIA.
Under his reign, the NHIA won the enviable and the coveted United Nations? Award for Excellence for Leadership and Innovation won in Geneva, Switzerland in November, an indication that the honor conferred on Mr. Mensah by his kinsmen was not out of place.
Mr. Mensah has previously been honored as the most effective Public Sector CEO in Ghana by the West African Regional Magazine, and has also been awarded the Africa Prize for Excellence and Leadership in Corporate Governance by the Global Centre for Transformational Leadership.
Source: The Al Hajj
