Legislature should review Affirmative Action Bill to facilitate passage – Freda Prempeh

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tano North Constituency in the Ahafo Region, Dr Freda Prempeh, has underscored the need for the Legislature to review and facilitate the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill.

The passage of the bill, she explained, would push the nation to tackle her long existing gender inequalities in all sectors of the economy, particularly in governance.

Dr. Prempeh, also a Minister of State in-charge of Works and Housing, rallied the support and assistance of all MPs for the passage of the bill and expressed discomfort about existing intra-party discrimination against women, saying “the passage of the bill will remedy existing imbalance between men and women in the country.

“It will also give both genders equal representations in the public sphere and tackle outmoded socio-cultural practices inimical to the progress, growth and development of women and girls since we have contributed exceptionally to the country’s political life, hence the need for the passage of the bill,” she asserted.

Dr Prempeh, the Founder of Ultimate Women Foundation, a women-centered non-governmental organisation, indicated that the passage of the bill would enable the nation actualise Article 35 (6) of the 1992 Constitution which mandated the State to take appropriate measures to achieve reasonable regional and gender balances though the nation had make some improvement in bridging gender gap.

She appealed for dedication, determination and commitment to enable women achieve equality at all levels in governance structure because the passage of the bill presented an enormous opportunity for the country to promote equality in participation and representation in decision-making processes for the good of society.

Dr Prempeh encouraged and motivated women and girls to know their worth and to empower and position themselves to contribute to the progress, growth and development of their communities and the larger society, adding that “it is unfortunate civil society organisations and actors have made several attempts since 1998, starting with Affirmative Action Policy guidelines to promulgate an Affirmative Action Law, but without concrete results.

“The Legislature needs to direct processes to see to the passage of the bill in the supreme interest of the nation”, she stressed. -GNA