Women participation in governance low at Nkoranza South District

Nkoranza (B/A) Oct. 15, GNA - Women participation in local governance has not improved at the Nkoranza South District of the Brong Ahafo Region, despite public education on the issue.

Mr. Paul Baffoe-Ansah, Chairman of the District Oversight Committee of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), made the observation at a day's Validation Workshop of the mechanism at Nkoranza. Presenting a draft monitoring and evaluation report of the committee at the workshop, which attracted 120 stakeholders, he said women representation in the district assembly and unit committees had so far not witnessed significant improvement.

However, the ability of the people to express themselves and to share their views about governance had enhanced. Mr. Baffoe-Ansah said although the district had also seen progress in the provision of potable water and electricity services, there was lack of support for micro and small businesses. He said the report was based on a questionnaire distributed to about 200 people in the district.

Mr. Baffoe-Ansah called for the collaborative efforts of the opinion leaders in the area to address the challenges facing the people. Dr. Francis Appiah, Executive Secretary of the National African Peer Review Mechanism Governing Council (NAPRM-GC) who addressed the workshop, called on Ghanaians to channel their resources, experience, skills and knowledge towards accelerated national development. He stressed that the development of every nation is a collective responsibility of the citizenry. Dr. Appiah advised the youth not to allow party politics to divide their ranks, but should rather forge ahead in unity and help initiate policies and programmes that would facilitate the pace of national development.

He said explained that the APRM was aimed at getting people involved in the decision making process of governance to contribute to the development of their communities and the country as a whole. Dr. Appiah commended the District Oversight Committee of the APRM for educating the people on the need for them to play their respective roles in national development.

Mr. Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum, District Chief Executive, commended the NAPRM-GC for organising the workshop to sensitize the people on the need to participate in governance. "The development of Ghana is a shared responsibility of all citizens and not a particular political party, hence we should all join hands and assist to develop the nation," he said. The Reverend Emmanuel Gaunchie, Minister in-charge of the District Assemblies of God Church, who presided, expressed concern about the poor waste management system in the area. He called on the people to desist from indiscriminate disposal of refuse and defecating at unauthorized areas to avoid epidemic outbreak. 15 Oct. 09