CAPACITY BUILDING WORKSHOP ON “AFFIRMATIVE ACTION BILL AND THE POST 2015 DEVELOPMENT FRAMWORK” HELD.

A Capacity-building workshop, designed to enhance the knowledge of civil society partners to influence policy processes on the development of an Affirmative Action Bill in Ghana and the Post-2015 development Framework, has taken place in Accra.

The Workshop, organized by ABANTU for Development--a Non-Governmental Organization which aimed at helping to increase women's participation in decision-making and policy influencing-- in collaboration with the Gender Action on Climate Change for Equality and Sustainability (GACCES) and the Women's Manifesto Coalition (WMC), with support from Action aid Ghana and Christian aid, Ghana, is expected to promote accountability and gender responsiveness in the two critical development policies.

In a presentation, Ms. Gertrude Owusu, Coalitions and Partnership Officer of ABANTU, noted that the Post-2015 Development Framework was expected to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which would lapse in 2015. According to Ms. Owusu, the goal of the Post-2015 Development Agenda was to ensure that globalization became a positive force for all the worlds' people of both present and future generations, adding that the goal also emphasized the need for sustainable patterns of consumption, production and resource use. She said it was critical for women's groups in Ghana to start actively engaging with the process to secure gender goals in the new Framework as consultations on the new development framework had begun at different levels globally. Ghana, Ms. Owusu said, was one of the countries selected to host a series of stakeholder engagements in the first round of national consultations that took place in over 50 countries in 2012 and 2013. She said Ghana was committed to working towards the attainment of the eight time-bound MDGs and its associated indicators, adding that governments, all over the world, had agreed to adopt a global political agenda that would promote sustainability in the country. She said the purpose of the consultations was to solicit the priorities that should be the focus of the Post-2015 agenda, adding that the new development agenda was required to, among others things, address the gaps that were identified with the implementation of the MDGs.

In her remarks the Convener of the Women Manifesto Coalition (WMC), Ms Hamida Harrison, said Affirmative Actions were always aimed at halting discrimination in all aspects of the national development agenda. She said Affirmative Actions were needed to ensure equality and gender inclusiveness which enabled citizens to participate in the national discussions, policies and programmes. According to her, Ghana was among the first countries in the world to make a commitment towards advancing Affirmative Actions, but over the years successive governments had done little to push forward the agenda. Ms Hamida called on participants and all stakeholders who were present at the workshop to take up the cause and ensure that the Affirmative Action Bill was passed in Ghana. In her remarks, MS Patience Damotey, an Environment and Gender Consultant, and Chairperson for the occasion, stressed the need for all stakeholders to work collectively n the fight against gender injustice.