Submit Affirmative Action Bill to Parliament for passage - Speaker directs A-G
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has directed the Minister of Justice and the Attorney-General to present the Affirmation Action Bill to Parliament for further consideration and passage into law.
He said given the importance of the bill, he had already written to the Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, to submit the bill to him in whatever state it was currently.
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“It is the duty of Parliament to pass laws, not that of the Executive and whatever the consultation,” he said.
Pre-historic days
Delivering his welcome address at the start of the third meeting of the second session of the Eighth Parliament, Mr Bagbin said: “This lack of legislation on affirmative action is taking us back to pre-historic days and our parliament is not one that is admired again because of the marginalisation and the suffocation of women.
“We have to sit up and I am using this opportunity to let the minister know that I urgently need a copy of the bill in whatever state it is in because I am aware that Cabinet has approved it and we can work on it and improve on it,” Mr Bagbin said.
Affirmative action
The Affirmative Action Bill, among others, seeks to remove the historical low representation of women in all decision-making spaces, while promoting democracy and development through the effective participation of all citizens.
In addition, it seeks to promote women's representation to a minimum of 40 per cent in all policy-making spaces.
The drafting of the bill began as far back as the year 2011 but till date the bill has still not been passed.
The government has made several promises to get the bill passed in 2017 and in 2020 yet none of these promises have materialised.
Priority bill
The Speaker indicated that the House was also expecting the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2021, which he said was also a priority bill that was causing global waves and finality needed to be brought to it.
“The House remains expectant of the various committees to report on this bill sooner than later,” he said.
Mr Bagbin reminded the House that as they began the current meeting, they should be guided by the “hopes and aspirations” of the people on whose mandate they found themselves in Parliament, particularly, given the current situation in the country.
“Let us bear in mind that the survival of the future generations depends on the choices and decisions we make in the House. We must protect their interests at every material time,” he said.
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