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Female Members of Parliament Undergo Affirmative Action Training in Ada
A two-day training workshop was organised by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) to sensitise Ghanaian female Members of Parliament (MPs) on the Affirmative Action (AA) Law was held from May 6-7 2025.
The workshop held at the Aqua Safari Resort in Ada aimed at providing the MPs with lobbying skills, advocacy and the necessary tools for the act to be fully enforced.
Madam Kathleen Addy, Chairperson of the NCCE, opening the workshop, said the sensitisation was important for the female MPs to help materialise the benefits envisaged in the law.
Madam Addy said there were a lot of reforms to be made to help more women emerge as parliamentarians, citing Rwanda, where 64 per cent of its parliamentarians are females.
Madam Addy said the AA law must impress upon political parties to reserve a percentage of their parliamentary seats for women, an intervention she believes would make women part of policymaking.
She lamented that Ghana has 50 per cent of its population being women but only 14 per cent of women in Ghana’s parliament are women.
The MPs expressed satisfaction about the workshop, acknowledging that women have always been marginalised and less catered for.
The Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Hon. Ablah Dzifa Gomashie, and MP for Ketu South and a queen mother in the Aflao Traditional Area, said that a female child could equally be raised by her parents to perform tasks of all kinds, rather than segregating duties to be performed with gender identification.
She said aside what biologically identifies us as men and women, and may be our strength levels, every other thing can be done by both genders, adding that countries that have women in leadership are doing better than Ghana.
The MP for Salaga South, Madam Zuwera Mohammed Ibrahimah, added her voice and said the Affirmative Action Law, which was passed and assented to last year, would not be one of the many laws that are not in use.
According to her, female MPs would get themselves acquainted with the law, engage various stakeholders, and then disseminate an action plan to the citizenry to empower and encourage many women to accept leadership positions in the country.
The Second Deputy Minority Whip, Jerry Ahmed Shaib, has defended the conduct of the Minority in Parliament during Tuesday’s chaotic sitting, insisting their actions were to protect what they believe is a violation of parliamentary procedure.
Explaining the incident, he said the Minority was reacting to developments surrounding a letter which allegedly directed that a seat belonging to the MP for Kpandai be declared vacant despite an earlier ruling by the Speaker.
He argued that the Speaker’s ruling should stand unless overturned by a competent court, and described the sudden reversal as shocking and against parliamentary precedent.
Mr Ahmed said the Minority only attempted to make a statement to register their displeasure, but tensions rose when the Majority Leader insisted on responding instead of commenting, which he said was against the rules.
He also denied claims that Minority MPs crossed the aisle, stressing that they remained within their side and only sought the Speaker’s attention.
He further complained that during proceedings, the Mace—the symbol of authority in the House—was not present and Minority microphones were disconnected, making the process one-sided.
He said the caucus intends to continue pushing to ensure that the MP for Kpandai retains his seat, adding that their next steps will be strategic.
By: Jacob Aggrey
President John Mahama has stated that it is too early for anyone to call for the scrapping of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) despite recent controversies surrounding the institution.
He argued that the office remains an important part of Ghana’s fight against corruption.
He explained that government is strengthening anti-corruption bodies such as the Economic and Organised Crime Office and the OSP, noting that the OSP is the only agency with the power to independently prosecute cases without going through the Attorney General.
President Mahama said many people distrust the Attorney General’s office because it is headed by a government minister, and some fear it may be slow to prosecute its own.
He believes an independent body like the OSP offers stronger accountability, regardless of who is involved.
He admitted that citizens want to see more prosecutions and visible results, but urged the public to give the OSP time.
He encouraged the office to speed up its investigations to show that it remains relevant in the fight against corruption.
By: Jacob Aggrey
