FIDA-Ghana appeals for more female appointees

The Ghana chapter of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA-Ghana) has appealed to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to ensure gender parity in his appointments of new state officials as mandated by the 1992 Constitution.

It said, considering the low number of women in the current list of appointments, it wished to respectfully request that subsequent appointments by the President would close the gender gap, as women were more than 50 per cent of the population.

The first list of President Akufo-Addo’s nominees for sector Ministers and Regional Ministers designate has 43 names out of, which eight are women.

A statement signed and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Monday, by Ms Afua Brown-Eyeson, President of FIDA-Ghana, said, as it awaited, once again, for Parliament to pass the Affirmative Action law, it wished to state that Ghana’s Constitution prohibited gender discrimination, especially, in the appointments of state officials.

It said as the President was exercising his constitutional mandate to appoint persons to head ministries, agencies, departments, boards, embassies, high commissions and other such positions required by the Constitution, he should ensure that more qualified women were appointed to serve the nation in various capacities.

“Article 35(5) and (6) of the Constitution of Ghana instructs the State to actively prohibit discrimination on the ground of gender by taking appropriate measures to achieve reasonable gender balance in recruitment and appointment to public offices.

“The United Nation’s Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) recommends a minimum of 30 per cent of all appointments as reasonable gender balance,” the statement explained.

Meanwhile, the Federation extended its warmest congratulations to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on his re-election as the Fifth President of the Fourth Republic,

“We wish him a very successful term.”

FIDA-Ghana also congratulated the first batch of female appointees and wished them a successful vetting process and term.