Former Second Lady, Matilda Amissah-Arthur, has called for the roles of the office of the First and Second ladies to be clearly defined by the constitution.
Speaking on Citi TV’s Point of View, the former second lady said the roles of the First and Second ladies tend to overlap particularly since the constitution does not stipulate exactly what is expected of them. She suggest that it would be better for the country to have a well spelt out arrangement that would clearly define the roles of both the First and Second Ladies of the land.
“I didn’t have any one prescribing to me what to do, you know interestingly, that position does not come with terms of reference, nobody tells you what to do so you carve out what you want to do and if you look back, first ladies…and wives of the vice presidents have done what they want to do and nobody has said do something different and for me, I had something doing so I just continued,” Matilda Amissah-Arthur explained.
She added that clearly defined roles will also ensure good coordination among the ladies. She asked for government’s support in terms of funding to make their work easier.
“Go back to Nkrumah and Busia, you would realize that their wives did not do anything in those roles and therefore there had never been the need. If my memory serves me right, it is only when Jerry John Rawlings became the head of state that his wife Nana Konadu started doing things and so in the history of Ghana, that is when the wife of the presidents started doing things.”
Watch below the full interview with Matilda Amissah-Arthur on Citi TV’s Point of View
