Ten distinguished women honoured

The Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS) on Tuesday awarded ten distinguished women from each of the ten regions of the country for their immense contribution to the deepening of local governance in their respective districts and the nation as a whole.

The ten award winners are Madam Veronica Atampoka Mba, a visually impaired Assembly Woman in Bongo District (Upper East Region); Madam Edith Evelyn Akpoto, former Presiding Member for Hohoe Municipal Assembly (Volta Region) and Elizabeth Anambiak Asampo, Assembly Women of the Kumbungu District (Northern Region).

Others are Claire Cynthia Der, former Presiding Member for Lambussie-Karni District Assembly (Upper West Region); Beatrice Bernie Boateng, former Member of Parliament for New Juabeng North Constituency (Eastern Region) and Victoria Norgbey, an Educationist and Governance Expert (Western Region).

The rest are Nana Ama Serwaa Nyarko, Queen mother of Offinso Traditional Area (Ashanti Region); Comfort Zormelo, former Assembly Woman at Medie (Greater Accra); Afua Kwartema Yamoah, former Assembly Woman for Agona East District (Central Region) and Comfort Perpetual Amoah, Assembly Woman for Hwediem Asona Electoral Area (Brong Ahafo Region).

The Institute also posthumously awarded five women for their dedication and selfless service to their districts when they were alive.

They were Hawa Yakubu, former Member of Parliament for Bawku, Florence Bentie, former District Chief Executive for Sisala, Regina Ayerko Apotsi, former Presiding Member for Manya Krobo and Sarah Kuntu-Atta, former District Chief Executive for Upper Denkyira.

Eight institutions that were also honoured include Abantu for Development, the National Association of Local Authorities in Ghana (NALAG), ActionAid Ghana, the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC) and United Nations Women.

The rest were the International Federation of Women Lawyers, Ghana (FIDA), Women in Law Development in Africa (WILDAF) and IBIS Ghana.

Nana Oye Lithur, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection who addressed the gathering, touted the importance of local governance in the country's democratic dispensation.

She called for more attention to be given to local governance as it had direct bearing on the lives and participation in governance of those at the grassroots level.

She praised the role of local governance as it served as the fertile grounds for nurturing those who wanted to get into politics fully.

Nana Lithur expressed concern about the low level of women’s involvement in local governance and called for the passage of the Affirmative Justice Bill to address issues relating to the more inclusion of women in politics.

Dr Esther Ofei-Aboakye, Executive Director of ILGS, expressed appreciation to the German Government for partnering with the Institute to carry out the exercise.

She praised the role women played in the country's democratic dispensation and called on all to pay particular attention to issues relating to women.

“Although women have and continue to play memorable and visible parts in local level development, these achievements have not been mapped, they have not been celebrated for what they have brought to the evolution of the assembly system in Ghana”, she stated.