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Stay chaste and free from sexual abuse – Gender activis
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To ensure that young girls stayed chaste and free from sexual abuse, the Upper West Regional Director of the Department of Gender, Mrs Charity Banye has asked them to take responsibility of their bodies and not allow themselves to be sexually abused by men.
“You are not a refuse dump, no one has the right to abuse you at this young age in the name of relationship or under the guise of sponsoring your education so you need to take responsibility of your body,” she advised.
Mrs Banye gave this advice during an inter-generational colloquium organised by Curious Minds. It was supported by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) – United Nations Children’s Fund Social and Behaviour Change (GBC-UNICEF SBC) Project.
The meeting which brought together pupils from basic schools across the Wa Municipality focused on “Building a better Ghana: eliminating harmful practices for sustainable development” and sought to create a platform for dialogue on ending harmful practices such as child marriage and teenage pregnancy.
The Director stated that men who had carnal knowledge of girls because they were providing for them did not have good intentions for such girls and were only taking advantage of their vulnerability to abuse them.
“Sadly, most of the teenage pregnancy cases we have been recording recently involve boys impregnating their classmates and teachers having affair with their own pupils so we have to speak out if we are put under such circumstances,” she said.
According to the director, when the boys impregnate the girls they are unable to take care of them so they leave them to their fate to become a burden on their parents.
Mrs Banye appealed to the boys to protect the girls and not sleep with them and also encouraged the youngsters to focus on their education instead of engaging in unhealthy relationships and pre-marital affairs.
For his part, the Project Manager, Mr Kingsley Obeng Kyere called for deliberate allocation of resources to promote the rights and well-being of children in Ghana.
He explained that the resources should be used to support efforts aimed at protecting children from harmful practices such as early marriage, parental negligence of duty and other harmful societal practices that prevent children from discovering and reaching their full potentials in life.
Mr Kyerej, who is also a journalist said that the sustainable development goals and other such international declarations considered the well-being of children hence it had enshrined specific clauses to promote the rights of children.
He appealed to stakeholders in child welfare issues to work together to protect the rights of children.
From Lydia Darlington Fordjour, Wa
The Director of Legal Affairs of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gary Nimako Marfo, has questioned who will bear the cost of conducting presidential and parliamentary primaries following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the party’s delegate system.
Speaking to journalists, Mr. Nimako Marfo said he would not immediately comment on the ruling, adding that he wanted to wait for the full details before sharing his views.
“I don’t want to comment on it now. Let’s wait,” he said.
When asked about the Supreme Court’s decision that all members in good standing should vote in party elections, he shifted attention to the financial implications of implementing the ruling.
According to him, allowing all members in good standing to vote would increase the cost of organising internal party elections.
He questioned who would pay for the expanded electoral process.
“Who is going to pay for the cost of the elections?” he asked.
When a journalist suggested that political parties would bear the cost, Mr. Nimako Marfo replied, “Let’s wait and see.”
The comments come after the Supreme Court ruled that political parties should allow all members in good standing to vote in their internal elections, a decision that is expected to expand participation but also increase the financial and logistical demands of organising presidential and parliamentary primaries.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The Supreme Court of Ghana has declared the delegate system used by political parties to elect presidential and parliamentary candidates unconstitutional.
In a 5-2 majority decision delivered, the Court ruled that the long-standing system violates democratic principles and ordered all political parties to ensure every registered, card-bearing member participates in presidential and parliamentary primaries.
The ruling brings to an end decades of internal party elections conducted by a limited number of delegates.
The suit was filed by former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng; veteran politician Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe; and former Minister for Lands and Forestry, Dr. Christine Amoako-Nuamah.
The plaintiffs argued that the delegate system created inequality among party members by granting voting rights to a privileged minority while excluding ordinary members in good standing.
They told the Court that restricting voting rights to delegates was inconsistent with the democratic principles enshrined in the 1992 Constitution.
The Attorney-General’s Department supported the suit and urged the Court to adopt a “one member, one vote” approach.
In its submission, the State argued that political parties perform an important public function in Ghana’s democratic framework and that their internal electoral processes must reflect constitutional values of equality, participation and universal suffrage.
The Attorney-General further submitted that expanding voting rights to all registered members would strengthen accountability and deepen internal democracy within political parties.
The judgment means that going forward, presidential and parliamentary candidates will be selected by all registered members of a political party, instead of by delegates alone.
Political parties are expected to review their constitutions and structures to comply with the Court’s directive ahead of the 2028 general elections.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
