Govt Appears not Committed to Passage of Affirmative Action Bill- PNAfrica Exec Director
The Executive Director of Parliamentary Network Africa’s (PNAfrica), Mr Sammy Obeng has called on the government to show commitment to the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill.
According to him, successive governments to date have shown no commitment to the passage of the Bill and assured that the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) would continue to put pressure to ensure it passage.
He said without sufficient pressure from the CSOs, the passage of the bill into law would remain elusive and charged the government to take action and submit the Affirmative Action Bill to Parliament.
Mr. Oberg made these comments at a high-level breakfast meeting on the Gender Advocacy to Parliament Project (GAP) under the auspices of the French Embassy on Friday, July 21, 2023,
The PNAfrica Executive Director added that should the government fail to initiate the process of ensuring the Bill is laid in Parliament, the CSOs would explore other options including the possibility of having portions of the Bill presented to parliament through private member’s motion Bill.
“We’ve heard the President time and again come to Parliament, even during State of the Nation Address, promising and giving timelines that have never worked. And until that gets done and laid in Parliament, there is little that the legislature can do,” Mr. Sammy Obeng stated.
He added that “Depending on the time that it will come to Parliament, the period between now and when Parliament rise will determine whether the House will be able to pick it. So it rests heavily with the executive.”
He emphasized the need for CSOs and gender advocates to intensify their advocacy and communicate effectively with the executive to overcome potential bottlenecks and drive progress in passing the Affirmative Action Bill into law.
Some female Members of Parliament (MPs) who are also members of the Gender and Children Committee of Parliament, and leaders of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) present at the breakfast meeting called on the government to expedite action on the Bill.
Speaker after speaker urged that, the Gender Based Advocate Groups focused on issues, heads of women-led CSOs, to collaborate, exchange ideas, and explore potential areas of support to advocate effectively for gender-based policies and promote women’s active participation in Parliament.
The GAP Project, funded by the French Embassy in Ghana, aims to strengthen gender-based CSOs to engage with women MPs continuously.
It also aims to facilitate better parliamentary advocacy towards adopting laws and policies that ensure equality, non-discrimination, gender equity, gender parity, and the promotion of economic, social, political, reproductive, and sexual rights of women and girls.
The meeting sought to build a common platform for CSOs and parliamentarians to collaborate effectively, with the ultimate goal of empowering women and achieving gender equality in Ghana’s Parliament
Sammy Obeng speaks to Media
Source: expressnewsghana.com
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