Mike Ocquaye
Former Speaker of Parliament Mike Ocquaye has called for the constitution to reflect the need for affirmative action in public life.
According to him, it is high time for Ghana to see greater representation of women in government, a situation that can be achieved with the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill.
In a lecture at Takoradi Technical University on “consolidating democracy and the rule of law in contemporary Ghana”, he said the constitution needed to be amended to enhance women’s participation in governance .
Areas he highlighted include appointments to public office, membership in district assemblies and parliament.
He suggested that a third of all appointments to public office and district assembly members should be made to women.
Meanwhile, for the strengthening of women’s participation in parliament, he said that the quota system in the candidates nominated by political parties should be applied.
“Additional seats in Parliament should be reserved for women. At the end of a general election, the reserved seats, for example thirty, will be allocated to the political parties according to their votes obtained in the national election.
“A qualification for seats reserved for women must be nuanced so that they are not taken by political activists who will have little to offer in the pursuit of qualitative governance,” he said.
Source: OccupyGh.com
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