Five political parties commit to gender transformative policies

Five political parties have pledged to promote gender and social transformative policies to improve the lives of women, children, and people with disabilities.

They are the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Convention People’s Party (CPP), the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), and the Great Consolidated People’s Party (GCPP).

The parties made the commitment during a forum in Accra on Tuesday, September 17, 2024.

The forum was jointly organised by the Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT) and the Transformative Social Policy for Post COVID-19 Africa (GETSPA).

The parties pledged to operationalise the Affirmative Action Bill, 2024, provide incentives for entrepreneurs to thrive, promote childbirth and maternal care, and work closely with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).

Dr. Antoinette Tsiboe-Darko, Deputy General Secretary of the NPP, said the party would support women-owned businesses by providing affordable financing through its Women’s Trade Empowerment Fund and incentivizing women in the renewable energy sector.

She indicated that the NPP’s policies would be designed to create an environment conducive to private sector growth, with a focus on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMSs) to promote a socially transformative nation.

Dr. Tsiboe-Darko emphasized that the future NPP government would implement the Affirmative Action Act, which would be signed into law by the President, to give the necessary institutional and legislative support for women, particularly in the workforce.

This would be targeted at ensuring that women, particularly those returning from delivery, re-join the workplace, as well as assisting young graduates and people with disabilities to enter the workforce easily.

Nana Oye Bampoh Addo, former Minister of Gender, Children, and Social Protection under the previous NDC administration, stated that inclusivity was central to the party’s ideology.

As such, they would ensure that their policies resulted in a decent level of life for all Ghanaians, including access to quality healthcare and education regardless of social status.

On economic support, Madam Bampoh Addo stated that if elected, the NDC would create a Women’s Development Bank to provide low-interest loans to women entrepreneurs to enable them to nurture and grow their businesses sustainably.

Regarding the implementation of the Affirmative Action Act, Nana Oye Bampoh Addo said the party would reserve a 30 per cent quota for women in all political appointments.

Eben Agbenya, a member of the CPP’s Manifesto Committee on Gender, also pledged the party’s commitment to ensuring a sound financial base for women businesses.

He said the party would create an enabling environment for banks to provide minimal interest on loans for women and employ more females into the security services.

Agbenya indicated that the CPP would prioritize maternal mortality reduction by training more youth to work in community health facilities and establishing a trimester clinic for knowledge enrichment with the Heritage Fund.

Emmanuel Felix Mantey, a Gender Activist with the PPP, said the party would develop solutions to tackle the governance, economic and social discrepancies in policies.

He said a PPP-led administration would guarantee seats at the Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary levels of government, to promote gender inclusion.

Mantey said the party’s Women Enterprise Development Agency would be intentional about addressing financing issues affecting women entrepreneurs and equipping them soft skills for growth and economic wellbeing.

Nora Gyempeh, National Women’s Organiser, GCPP, said the party’s ‘domestication’ policy would prioritize agriculture and allocate funds to boost women’s businesses.

She said that the GCPP’s emergency economic relief programme would assist young women in to develop technological skills and put the country on a path of sustainable growth.

In an interview with the media, Mad Patricia Blankson Akakpo, Head of Secretariat, NETRIGHT, said the network would collaborate with other CSOs, to parties accountable to their pledges.

“During elections, you hear political parties give promises, but when they come to power, then it’s a different ball game. We’re tired of the empty promises, and the lip service.

“So, whoever wins power, after 100 days, we will come back to look at what you have done for the women of this country, and we are looking at social interventions, women’s representation and participation,” she said.