Women angry with Prez Kufuor on appointments

A number of women organisations and individual women have expressed grave concern about the seeming neglect of women in the appointment to public office by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.

According to them the NPP manifest places emphasis on the need to involve more women in public government. The facts on the ground are however, proving contrary.

The promise by the government that 50 per cent of its appointees to the District Assemblies would be women also does not seem to have been fulfilled. In the recent appointment of seven deputy ministers-designate by the President, no woman was nominated.

And to add insult to injury the Deputy Minister-designate for Women’s and Children’s Affairs is a man. It is against this background that The Ghanaian Voice decided to sample women’s opinion on the issue.

And, according to Mrs Veronica Coffie, Head of International Affairs and Gender Activist at the Trades Union Congress (TUC), the government could have done better because there are a number of women who are capable and prepared to assume front line political responsibilities.

She ruled out the fact that in this era of positive change, women do not have trust in themselves. She submitted however, that some women do have problems with their husbands when they attempt taking up political positions. “But that is left for the man and his wife to decide when such opportunity avails itself,” she added.

Mrs Helena Awurusa of the women’s desk of the Ghana National Association of Teachers held a similar view like the former. She pointed out that there are so many women in Parliament from among them a choice could have been made.

She reiterated the point that there are so many women equally qualified to take ministerial position to contribute to national development than when there they are always placed (deputy ministerial positions) in decision making.

She said the time has come for politicians to stop hiding policies which are theoretical to approaching the practical aspect of gender equity aside the sensitisation of society on gender equality.

Hon Ama Benyiwa Doe thinks that the NPP government has marginalized women and the earlier they look at it the better. How can the NPP use women to win an election and sideline them in decision making” she queried.

According to the MP, the NPP made much noise over women participation in governance and must live up to that expectation. She believes that the number of women in government and appointees is a shame considering the role women played in their electoral victory and continue to do so even of late.

She called on women particularly those in the NPP to rise up. The MP maintained that women form the majority of the Ghanaian population and all governments must reciprocate this by involving them in the affairs of the country.

Hon Comfort Owusu, MP for Mfantseman East, said the NPP government has not lived up to expectation as far as appointment of women as ministers is concerned. “I feel that more women should be made substantive ministers and not deputies. Women also can head ministries and I think the women in NPP and the country as a whole must agitate for this”, she added.

Mrs Betty Mould Iddrisu Mahama, a renowned lawyer suggested that more women should be appointed to deputy ministerial positions to groom them to take up higher post. She said, “Talking about gender equality, the number of women serving as deputy ministers are inadequate. The government can do better.