By: Razak Baba
The Executive, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and Parliament have been urged to hasten all processes to get the Affirmative Action Bill passed into Law before the end of this year.
Participants at a discussion in Kumasi who made the call said the Government has made several promises to get the Bill passed in 2017 and in 2020, yet, none of these promises have materialized.
According to them, Ghana must not undertake another Election without the passage and coming into force of the Affirmative Action Law, as its benefits Law will not only inure to women but to all Ghanaians.
The roundtable held in Kumasi was at the instance of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development, CDD-Ghana and the Affirmative Action Bill Coalition on the role of stakeholders in averting excessive delays in passing the Affirmative Action Bill into law.
Participants in the discussion were representatives of political parties, civil society organizations and the media.
The Affirmative Action Law seeks to remove the historical low representation of women in all decision-making processes, while promoting democracy and development through effective participation of all citizens.
The drafting of Affirmative Action Law began in 2011. However, till date, the Bill has still not been passed.
The government has made several promises to get the Bill passed in 2017 and in 2020, yet, none of these promises have materialized.
The participants, while appreciating the efforts made by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, called on the Ministry to expedite processes to get the Bill passed into law before the end of this year.
In a power point presentations to give background and overview of the Affirmative Action Bills, by the National Coordinator, Local Governance Network, Mr. Christopher Dapaah expressed urgent need for the Passage of Affirmative Action Bill into law.
According to them, the enactment of this Bill will be a step in the right direction, as its aim will be to address the historical social, cultural, economic and political gender imbalance in the country and serve as a tool for justice for women in the country.
A Senior Programmes officer of CDD-Ghana, Regina Amanfo Tetteh said Ghana cannot be a true democracy without equal representation of all groups, especially that of women and marginalized groups, hence the need for stakeholders to push for the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill.
She said in order for Ghana to achieve more inclusive state with equal opportunities for all, it is very important and urgent to address its human rights gaps; one of the human rights violations is the continuing gender imbalance within various spheres of life.
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