“…The more complete one’s life is, the more ... one’s creative capacities are fulfilled, the less one fears death ... people are not afraid of death per se, but of the incompleteness of their lives”- Lisl Marbugr Goodman

 

Affectionately called Louis, Dr. Casely-Hayford was born in Takoradi on 13^th July, 1936 to Mr. Archie Casely-Hayford and Mrs. Essie Casely-Hayford. His siblings were Beattie and Desiree.

 

Louis was a descendant of a large and long lineage of extraordinary family members. His great grandfather, Reverend Joseph de Graft Hayford was one of the greatest politicians of his day, and the most active member of the Fanti Confederacy of 1867. His grandfather, Mr. Joseph Ephraim Casely-Hayford, was highly regarded as one of the most celebrated Africans of his time. He was the one who advocated the need for African countries to unite for their eventual emancipation - political, economic, and social - which later found expression in the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity.

 

Louis’ grandfather was a family man who valued education and training of his children.  As a result, Louis had twelve well educated Uncles and Aunts to look up to in addition to his father, Mr. Archie Casely-Hayford who was a well-known barrister, a public figure and a consummate politician and turned out to be the most famous of the Casely-Hayfords up till then. Archie was one of the trusted colleagues of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, President of the First Republic. He was inter alia Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources and he must have passed on his sense of nationalistic pride to his son, Louis, the one lying still before us and the one we are all mourning and at the same time celebrating his life today.

 

Louis attended Adisadel College, Cape Coast from 1948 to 1952 and later to Dulwich College, London from 1952 to 1955. In October 1956, Louis entered the University of Manchester's Faculty of Technology where he obtained his Bachelor of Science in Technology (BSc Tech, Hons) degree in July 1959 and his Master of Science degree in 1960.

 

A Chartered Engineer, Louis also held the qualifications of Associate of the Manchester College of Science and Technology (AMCST), Graduate Member as well as Corporate Member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (MIMechE) and Fellow of the Ghana Institute of Engineers (FGhIE).

 

On 25^th October, 1962, Louis joined the Volta River Authority as a Mechanical Engineer. His brilliance and tenacity of purpose propelled him through the ranks from Mechanical Maintenance Engineer in 1964, Supervising Mechanical Maintenance Engineer in 1969, Acting Assistant Director of Power Operations in 1971 and confirmed Assistant Director of Power Operations (Generating and Plant Maintenance) in 1972. In 1974, he was appointed Acting Director of Engineering and confirmed as Director of Engineering in 1975. In 1977, he was appointed Acting Deputy Chief Executive and confirmed the same year as Deputy Chief Executive. On 22^nd June, 1980, Louis was appointed Chief Executive of the VRA. After a long and productive service, Louis retired from the VRA on 31^st December, 1990. He continued to serve the nation in various capacities until his transition.

 

Louis accumulated a lot of knowledge and experience by travelling to many power installations worldwide. These visits included the Hitachi Works in Japan in 1969 in connection with the modifications of governors used in Hydro Power Stations, and the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation in Australia in 1976 to review the draft feasibility study report on the Bui Hydro Electric Project. He was on attachment to Ontario Hydro, Canada in 1964 and again in 1978 where he participated in the Final Report of the Power Equipment Review Board of the VRA. He was in Burkina Faso in connection with the Noumbiel/Koulbi and Bui Hydro Electric Project (1978). In 1979, Louis participated in the discussion of the Interconnection of Electrical Systems Project between Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. He also attended the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees meeting of Union of Producers and Distribution Committee. In addition, he also travelled on various assignments to Belgium, Benin, France, Great Britain, Italy, Kenya, Kuwait, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Switzerland.

 

Dr. Casely-Hayford's distinct contributions to VRA and therefore of Ghana’s development process were numerous. He believed in the vision of beneficial sub-regional cooperation in West Africa and played a pivotal role in the realisation of the Ghana-Togo-Benin power interconnection project and the interconnection of the Ghana-La Côte d'Ivoire electrical systems.

 

Louis travelled extensively to canvass support and financing for the construction of a second hydroelectric project in Ghana.  And having secured the funds, he oversaw the construction of the Kpong Generating Station and associated irrigation system.

 

He was the brain behind the extension of Power to the Northern sector of Ghana at a time that many in the world's international financial institutions and some of his own colleagues thought the scheme would be impossible because of various challenges facing the Northern Region. He made persuasive arguments to justify the project based on economic rationale and social imperatives that garnered the support needed to extend grid power to the hitherto unserved 60% of the landmass of Ghana beyond Kumasi.  This project laid the infrastructural foundation for the pursuit of a truly national electrification vision.

 

Great men are just in short supply.  Great men elevate their spirit to the level of God where all things are possible.  If Louis had taken the position that extending electricity to the North was an engineering impossibility, Ghana would have been short changed by that poor thinking.  Louis was not a routine thinker.  He wore the spectacle of possibilities and Ghana benefited from this unusual gift.

 

VRA benefited enormously from his fascination with knowledge in technological innovations that could improve the productivity of any institution. Through his leadership effort, VRA was able to secure the latest Apple Macintosh computer of the day to facilitate production of the maiden edition of the newsletter in the institution and thereafter maintained an enviable position as one of the lead adopters of information technology systems in Ghana.

 

The vision of the better future that Louis dreamt of was not limited to technical matters.  He saw it as morally unacceptable for the large families of junior staff to be living in single room accommodation called “2-in-1” while the predominantly small families of senior staff lived in three room houses. He therefore introduced a policy in VRA for the provision of 3-bedroom houses for all staff. He was also disturbed by the squalid conditions of those who lived in the unplanned slum area, called “combine”, which had developed at the entrance to Akosombo. Hence, when he became Chief Executive of VRA, he saw to their relocation and resettlement and therefore, achieved his vision of a future Akosombo with everyone in decent housing.

 

Beyond the VRA world, his sense of corporate social responsibility was exemplified by his inputs to the development of the Medical Services and the Akosombo International School among other initiatives.

 

It is generally acknowledged that even though Louis was the third Chief Executive of the VRA after Mr. Frank Dobson and Dr. E. L. Quartey, he was the first staff member to have risen through the ranks to become the Chief Executive of the institution.

 

In addition to his role at the VRA, Louis served the nation in various capacities such as a member of the Government Technical Advisory Committee on Energy (1979), the Ghana Tourist Development Company, Government Committee for the renegotiation of the Volta Master Agreement and simultaneously the National Energy Board (1985-1989). He was also Chairman on several Committees such as the Technical Audit Committee into Public Corporations (1981) and the Special Committee appointed by Government to recommend the reorganisation of the Petroleum Industry in Ghana (1987). Louis also served on several Private Sector Boards including the Chairmanship of CAL Merchant Bank, Ghana Leasing Company, Directorship of the UTC, Shell Ghana Ltd., Newmont Ghana Gold Ltd., SOS Children’s Village Association of Ghana for over 20 years, ICON Ltd., and Signals and Controllers Ltd. More recently, he served as an active member of the Board of Directors of the Ghana National Museum on Slavery and Freedom.

 

Louis Casely-Hayford was one of the prominent Ghanaians who took the idea of mentoring younger colleagues very seriously. In fact, there are quite a lot of Ghanaians currently holding important positions both in the private and public sectors who considered Louis as their main mentor. He was a philanthropist who was especially compassionate to the poor and the needy in and around his local community.

 

Almighty God in the creation story said let everything produce after its kind.  It is true to say that Louis was fulfilling the scriptures.  He was producing employees of VRA after his own strength, calibre and quality.  He did not have “the only pebble on the shore mentality”.  He was building a strategic national institution and not a personal fiefdom.  In this sense, he was unique and particular.

 

In recognition of his various contributions to Ghana, he was presented with a Certificate of Honour in 1987 on the occasion of the 50^th Year Reign of Odeneho Kwafo Akoto II, KMC. Louis was elevated to the position of Barima in recognition of his selfless and dedicated service to the Akwamu Traditional Area. On 2^nd June, 1994, the Italian Government awarded Dr. Ing. Louis Casely-Hayford the national title of Commander, Order of Merit of the Italian Republic for his outstanding work in the engineering field. He was awarded a plaque by the Ghana Tourist Development Company in recognition of his able leadership and distinguished services as Chairman of the Company; a position he held from 1991 to 1998. For his dedicated leadership as Chairman, Louis was awarded a Certificate of Merit during the 10 Year Celebration of CAL Merchant Bank in 2000. Again in 2000, he was presented with a Certificate of Meritorious Service by the Ghana Tourist Development Company in appreciation and recognition of his distinguished service as Board Chairman from 1991 to 1997. In 2002, Louis Casely-Hayford was awarded a Doctor of Science (DSc) Honoris Causa by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. The accompanying citation inter alia described him as a patriot, scholar, management consultant and engineer par excellence. In 2011, the VRA presented Louis with an Award of Merit on the occasion of the 50^th Anniversary for his significant contribution to the implementation of the Akosombo Project and operation of the Power facilities.

 

Dr. Casely-Hayford was a devout husband. And although his first marriage to Florence Casely-Hayford (née Ofei-Quartey) ended up in a divorce, he got married to Fredricka Casely-Hayford (née Lutterodt). Louis had five children – Dennis, Harry, Sharon, Louisa and Josephine. Louis was so proud of the successes of the children that he never missed any opportunity to share his pride and joy of the children’s achievements with his close friends.

 

His marriage to Fredricka, he described as God sent. He found Fredricka an equally dedicated and dependent person whom he was ever grateful to throughout their marriage.  In the evening of his years, Fredericka became the walking stick he was leaning on and we thank God for such a strong union of love and romance.

 

Apart from his family, Louis was very interested in natural history. He manifested his interests, for example, in gardening in and around his house. His main outside interest was soccer and he was Chairman of the Akosombo Hydro United Football Club. Among the many interests of Louis was cooking. He was particularly fond of cooking beef stroganoff and the preparation of different stews. He loved desserts and was an expert in baking chocolate cakes.

 

Above all, Louis was a Christian who worshiped regularly with his wife, Fredricka, at the Holy Trinity Cathedral and later at the Ridge Church in Accra.

 

Dr. Louis Casely-Hayford’s legacy is embodied in his total dedication to serving VRA and therefore Ghana for over 28 years. He was a man who, like his great grandfather, his grandfather and his father, was an African patriot who whole-heartedly supported all national struggles towards the total emancipation of the continent. He had an unusual analytical and intellectually curious mind who could engage anyone in any intelligent discussions literally on any subject.

 

Ghana has lost a great and enquiring mind.

 

There is an exit called death and no one is exempted from that rite of passage.  In the Duchess of Malfi (1623) act 4 sc 2 cf.  222.6, 270;8, this eventual inevitability is expressed thus:

 

            “I know death hath ten thousand several doors

            For men to take their exits”

 

Dr. Louis Casely-Hayford has taken a glorious exit and we thank his Maker for depositing awesome gifts in him and more importantly for he using same for the service of Ghana and beyond.

 

May his soul rest in perfect peace.