President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
The Economic Fighters League has criticized the Akufo-Addo administration for nominating few women for the position of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs).
The group said in a statement that they have noted with profound disappointment the wide gender disparity in the list of MMDCE nominees released by the President.
“Per Article 243 (1) of the 1992 Constitution, the appointment of MMDCEs is the sole preserve of the President though a fundamental principle of the democracy we claim to practice is universal adult sufferage; the right to elect government representatives. The list of 260 MMDCEs published by the ministry of information is plagued by the inequalities entrenched in the dubious sakawa 1992 constitution that guarantees all the benefits to a minority privileged class.
“Women, who form about 51.2% of the population are unequally represented in local government with just 38 out of the 260 appointments,” the statement said.
It added “This inequality is unacceptable but not surprising. It is entrenched in the 1992 Sakawa constitution. It is seen at all levels of our fraudulent governance system. In Parliament, women make just 15% of the members while constituting 51.2% of the population. At ministerial level, boards and other positions of power, we see this criminal inequality enabled by the 1992 Sakawa constitution.
“We of the Economic Fighters League maintain that our rights and socio economic freedom is dependent on a completely new constitution. A new constitution that represents the wishes and aspirations of we the sovereign people of Ghana.
“The new constitution must have proportional representation where all demographic groups and historically marginalized groups are fairly represented at all levels of decision-making. This is the #NewGhana for which we toil day and night – a fair, just, economically democratic Ghana.”
Adaklu lawmaker, Kwame Agbodza also expressed similar sentiment saying, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had the opportunity to use the MMDCEs to achieve his 30 per cent target of appointing females into his government but he missed the opportunity.
Mr Agbodza noted that although every government struggles to achieve the commitment to appoint more women into office, Mr Akufo-Addo could have achieved that through the MMDCEs nomination.
Contributing to a discussion on the announcement of the MMDCEs list by Local Government Minister Dan Botwe on TV3’s New Day with Johnnie Hughes on Monday September 20, he said “The biggest opportunity to have balanced the 30 per cent thing would have been through the DCE nominees.
“I wouldn’t blame NPP alone for this. Every government struggles to achieve whatever commitment they made in terms of women representative.”
A former Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Akuapem North, Mr Dennis Miracles Aboagye, however noted that 95 per cent of the women who put themselves up for this appointment were accepted by the President.
“First of all, when the president speaks of 30 per cent of women in appointment it is not just ministers and MMDCEs, it goes to all the other appointments the president has to make, CEOs Boards, heads of agencies, are all part.
“When it comes to political appointment it is not just going to hunt for people, it is an issue of willing and readiness of the individual to put himself up.
“The good news is that, the process of this appointment has been very known to all of us in Ghana, the question is how many women put themselves up and were not given?
“I can tell you that over 90 per cent of the women who put themselves up were given the appointments. “
He further suggested that the time has come for stakeholders to go back to plans to have MMDCEs elected.
He believed that electing MMDCEs on a partisan basis the best decision for Ghana’s democracy.
He said “That for me I think is something we need to revisit it. Let us have a conversation around it again and then come to a certain level of census and so where we have gotten to this is not sustainable we cannot continue to go down the this lane, let us give the power to the people to decided, the president has wholeheartedly put out this issue forward and he is willing to let go off this power.
“It is now left is the legislation especially the opposition party in parliament to say as it stands now is the best in the interest in the country.”