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There was a gasp of surprise, or was it disbelief? Some even contemptuously questioned the wisdom of the President in sending a woman to that ministry. Why that woman? They even querried. Being assigned to any ministry with sports as part of its portfolio comes with its peculiar challenge, not because of workload. A ministry with sports has a reputation which many with clear conscience, who stand for the truth, who want things done the right way, would not want to share. It is a ministry where those who know its intricacies and intrigues, welcome ministers sent there with scepticism, fear, suspicion or joy, depending on the outlook, intention, disposition or agenda of the person or group making the observation. All these added to the turbulence in the minds of many when the President, Professor John Evans Atta Mills, named Honourable Akua Sena Dansua, the Member of Parliament for North Dayi in the Volta Region, as the new Minister of Youth and Sports. There are those who are genuinely concerned for a good reason and wish that the new minister succeeds and comes out unscathed where others went and made a hasty and sad exit. There are also the mischievous and doomsday people of course, who prefer to celebrate what they consider to be failure and not success. For many, the story of the ministry of sports is well known. For the sake of those who may still not know, in 2001, a young man called Mallam Yusif Issa, was plucked from nowhere and made the Minister of Education, Science and Sports. Barely three months later, Mallam Issa became the first casualty of the Kufuor Administration, when he was booted out of office for not accounting for US$46,000 meant as bonus for players of the senior national football team, the Black Stars, who were to defend the national flag in a World Cup qualifier in The Sudan. The truth was never known, but there were rumours that Mallam Issa was set up by officials of the ministry. This was vehemently denied by the officials. Whatever the case, the ministry gained notoriety for shady deals masterminded by some untouchables who have entrenched themselves in some impregnable fortresses. In 2009, Alhaji Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, the young Member of Parliament for Asawase, assumed office as Minister of Youth and Sports. Remember, Sports is always looking for fresh partners. The new minister plunged into business with all the vigour and enthusiasm, powered by youthful exhuberance. By some strange coincidence, three months later, just like in the case of Mallam Issa, Alhaji Mubarak ran into turbulence. His charges, among others, were that, he had used or rather misused his office to transport an unauthorised person at state expense on two occasions to Germany and Cote d�Ivoire. He was also accused of a large appetite for the consumption of large quantities of ching-chinga, a local delicacy of spiced, grilled meat. Alhaji Mubarak�s tribulations did not end there. He was accused of embarking on unbridled buying spree involving baby nappies and other such things. He also did not escape the charge of not accounting for money given to him. Alhaji Mubarak sadly made a premature exit when he resigned his post. There are common strands in the Mallam Issa and Alhaji Mubarak cases. They are both young and both promised to clear the stables and bring financial sanity to the sports ministry. Both never stayed long enough to carry out their missions. In fact both were consumed by allegations of fraud and corruption, the two evils they pledged to stamp out at the ministry. So what was her reaction when she first heard of her new portfolio, I asked Honourable Dansua. Shock! Shock because she was not expecting a change in portfolio now, having set a cracking pace at the Ministry of Women and Children�s Affairs, where she had generally performed well and gearing up to consolidate ground and put a lot of her programmes and policies into action. That was why she thought this reshuffle should have passed by her. Second, the new portfolio was a great surprise. She felt in the event of any change, she would be considered for a position her professional training and disposition could easily accommodate, say the Ministry of Information, being a professional journalist or the leadership of the House, where she is a three-term member. All the same, the President being the team leader knows best. She has, therefore, embraced the challenge, determined to succeed and prepare the ground for other women to tread in future without fear of failure. This is not the first time she had risen to the occasion. Ms Dansua said when she was appointed the DCE for Kpando in 1997, many were those who could not believe that the young woman that she then was, could manage the office. Her performance in that office is now history and a reference point for others who came after her. When I suggested the idea that her new appointment might be a trap for self-destruction, judging from the experience of some others before her, Ms Dansua was of the strong view that her choice as the first female Minister of the Ministry of Youth and Sports is an affirmation of faith and confidence in the ability of women by President Mills generally and in her personal qualities. As to how she is going to cope with a ministry that has gained notoriety for swallowing its ministers, she said until she gets there, she would not know what are those demons that have been haunting people there. However, one thing is certain. She is going to be a team leader who will use the services of all the human resource available to build up the image of the ministry. In the same vein, she would expect others, especially the technical staff, to exhibit honesty, transparency, absolute support and co-operation so that collectively they could build a good image for sports in Ghana and beyond. She said rightly or wrongly, the ministry had a bad image in the eyes of the public and it was their collective responsibility to correct that perception and build a positive image for the ministry. Her first task would be to organise an open forum and put her agenda on the table and would equally expect an open and frank response from all stakeholders. In her opinion, what may be deemed a failure of an individual minister is actually a failure of all those who have anything to do with the administration of the ministry. On those intrigued with the idea of a woman going to head a dreaded ministry, Ms Dansua said the problem was not about gender, but the institution itself which needed major reforms. So it is possible that where many men went and failed, a woman will go and succeed. On her vision for the ministry, she aid it was not about sports or football alone. Preparing the youth for the future is the responsibility of that ministry. She made reference to the age-old adage that: �The devil finds work for idle hands�, and promised that she would fine-tune existing programmes and design new ones that would respond to the needs of the youth. �When the youth are unemployed, they tend to engage in bad habits such as stealing, robbery, Sakawa and many such evil practices,� she noted, and pledged to make the development of the youth the focal point of her policy at the ministry. In the same way she would popularise other sporting disciplines such as swimming, tennis, women�s football and help in the revival of student teams like the Academicals which served as a nursing ground for the national football team in the past. Ms. Akua Dansua is going to be new at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, but she is more than a matured wine on the political landscape. A product of Mawuli School, the Ghana Institute of Journalism, the School of Communication Studies of the University of Ghana, Legon, and the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, Ms. Dansua was into mainstream journalism for many years before veering into active politics in 1997, when she was made the District Chief Executive for Kpando, a position she held with distinction till 2001, when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government gave way to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) after the 2000 election. From 2001 to date, Ms. Dansua has been a Member of Parliament where she has held many leadership positions. They include Second Deputy Minority Whip (January 2004-January 2009) and First Deputy Majority Whip (January 7-February 13, 2009). She also represented Parliament on several local and international committees and travelled widely to several countries on many parliamentary missions. On February 13, 2009, Ms Dansua assumed office as Minister of Women and Children�s Affairs, a position she held to the admiration of many until last Monday, when President Mills appointed her to the Ministry of Youth and Sports. From her humble beginnings, Honourable Dansua has piled up years of hard work and experience and is, therefore, confident that with the support of all well-meaning Ghanaians she is not going to fail and prayed for the co-operation of all. �I have the professional competence, political experience, the independence of mind and the neutrality needed in a multi-faceted environment such as the Ministry of Youth and Sports to handle the ministry and turn the place around,� she declared with optimism, �and I see my new role not only as a personal challenge, but to all of us women who want the world to know and accept that we are more than capable in whatever challenge we are confronted with.�