Women unhappy about conflicts between elected and non-elected Assembly members

Conflicts between elected Assembly members and Government appointees, have become a matter of concern to Assembly women in the three northern regions of the country.

The women explained that there were many instances where elected Assembly members and Government appointees had engaged in confrontations for the sake of gaining recognition.

“Whilst the elected Assembly members feel they are elected by the electorate and are the real people to be consulted, the appointed Assembly members feel otherwise and this is hampering development”, they said.

The Assembly women from Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions, expressed the concern at Bolgatanga at a day’s workshop organised by the Women Assistance and Business Association (WABA), an NGO into women empowerment.

They said the conflicts were seriously undermining the effective implementation of the District Assembly concept in those regions.

The women said they were also opposed to the election of District Chief Executives and that Ghana had not come to that stage yet – the election of DCEs could affect the policies and programmes of Government in power.

The President of WABA, Ms Gloria Ofori-Boadu advised both the elected and non-elected officials at the Assemblies to tread cautiously, especially those within the same parties since disunity could undermine their performance during election periods.

She cited confrontations among Members of Parliament (MPs) and District Chief Executives (DCEs) as some of the instances that affected the performance of political parties during elections.

The President of WABA stressed the need for Assembly members to become abreast with the Assembly concept.

The workshop was on Democracy and Human Rights Education Programme for Women and Youth Leaders in Public Life. The 50 women, who participated in the workshop, were taken through the District Assembly Amendment Act, Act 462, Assembly Member and Electoral Area Zonal and area council and town councils.

They were also schooled on their roles and responsibilities as Assembly members.

Source: GNA

Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Shares