In a solemn announcement, the J.J. Rawlings Foundation has reported the passing of Valerie Anne Sackey, the former Director of the Castle Information Bureau during the PNDC administration from 1982 to 1992 and the Public Affairs Secretariat at the Office of President J.J. Rawlings from 1992 to 2001.
Mrs. Sackey, who was born in 1935 in Accrington, United Kingdom, passed away on December 31, 2023.
The Rawlings Foundation expressed deep regret and sorrow over her departure.
Mrs. Sackey, formerly known as Valerie Anne Lindoe, met and married Horace Walter Kofi Sackey at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
The couple arrived in Ghana just three days after the country gained independence in March 1957.
Upon their arrival, Mrs. Sackey taught Geography at the Opoku Ware Secondary School before joining the Department of Game and Wildlife and being posted to the Kumasi zoo.
When her husband became a Minister of State in the Progress Party government in 1969, she moved to Accra and continued working with the Department of Game and Wildlife.
After the fall of the Progress Party government in 1972, Mrs. Sackey returned to Kumasi and transferred to the Kumasi unit of the Department of Game and Wildlife.
She later took up a teaching position at St. Louis Secondary School in Kumasi.
During this time, she penned articles on various topical issues for the Pioneer newspaper under the pen name Yaa Asantewaa.
Her straightforward and candid approach to these matters resonated with readers, who appreciated her honest take on socio-political issues.
One of her articles caught the attention of Flt. Lt. J.J. Rawlings, the Leader of the Revolution, who agreed with her views and requested a meeting. Rawlings was surprised to discover that she was white. Impressed by her interactions with her, Rawlings asked her to join his personal office staff, where she took charge of his speeches, interviews, press statements, and other media-related matters. With her expertise and the assistance of Kwasi Opoku Acheampong, editor of the Pioneer, the Castle Information Bureau and Public Affairs Secretariat became the most powerful and effective administrative organs of Rawlings’ personal units.
Even after 2001, Mrs. Valerie Sackey continued to assist the late former President with his speeches, interviews, and other media-related tasks.
She is survived by her children: Michael Sackey (London), Joseph Sackey (Los Angeles), and Anne Asantewaa Sackey (Accra), as well as seven grandchildren. Details about her final funeral rites will be announced soon.
Rawlings’ speech writer Valerie Anne Sackey’s demise at the age of 88 is a loss felt deeply by the Rawlings Foundation and the nation as a whole. Her contributions to the Rawlings administration, as well as her honesty and dedication to her work, will be remembered and appreciated.
By Vincent Kubi