BA fails to increase number of women MPs
The Brong Ahafo Region failed in its bid to increase the number of women members of parliament (MP).
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Even though there were 12 women out of the 121 people who filed their nominations to vie for the 29 seats in the region, only two got elected on December 7, 2016 and will respond to the roll call into the Seventh Parliament of the Fourth Republic on January 7, 2017.
Of the two current female MPs from the region, the NPP MP for Tano North, Ms Freda Prempeh, maintained her seat while her colleague, the NDC MP for Tano South, Dr Hanna Louisa Bissiw, who doubles as a Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture (in charge of livestock), lost her seat.
The new female MP-elect from the region who will join her colleagues in the new Parliament is Ms Felicia Adjei who won the Kintampo South seat.
Women representation
Indeed, women representation in Parliament from the region has not been impressive since the country returned to constitutional rule in 1993.
The First Parliament of the Fourth Republic recorded only two women representatives from the region.
They were Ms Gladys Abena Nsoah, who won then Kintampo seat as an independent candidate, and Ms Theresah Nyarko-Fofie, who won the Nkoranza seat on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress.
In that Parliament, there were only 16 women out of the entire 200 MPs.
In the Second Parliament of the Fourth Republic, which had a total of 16 women, Ms Nsoah, who this time stood on the NDC ticket, and Ms Nyarkoh-Fofie retained their seats while Mrs Grace Boakye (Tano North) represented the region.
The situation during the Third Parliament was no better as the number of female MPs reduced from three to two.
They were Ms Cecilia Gyan Amoah (Asutifi South) and Ms Anna Nyamekye (Jaman South).
The record of women representation from the region in the Fourth Parliament was nothing to write home about as only NPP’s Ms Anna Nyamekye, Jaman South, represented women in the region. The total number of women in that Parliament was 25.
The Fifth Parliament was the worse for women in the region since no woman was elected in the region as an MP.
As stated earlier, in the current Parliament, there were two female MPs from the region.
Profile of elected female MPs
Ms Felicia Adjei
Ms Felicia Adjei is a citizen of Anyima in the Kintampo South District who had her early education at the Kintampo Methodist School.
She holds an Advance Certificate and a Diploma in Catering and Food and Nutrition from the Adventist Vocational Institute, now Techiman Campus of the Valley View University, and the Sunyani Polytechnic respectively.
She has also done other certificate courses in Customer Care and Entrepreneurship among others.
Ms Adjei had her first job experience at the Catering Rest House, Sunyani, and later relocated to the United States of America where she worked with companies such as Motorola and General Motors.
She is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Adfall Company Limited and Founder of Felicia Adjei Foundation.
Ms Freda Akosua Ohene Afrewo Prempeh
She is a Public Relations and Marketing Executive. She holds a Bachelor of Science (Administration) Human Resource Management Option from the University of Ghana, CIM, UK, CPA (GIMPA) and Diploma in Journalism (GIJ). She recently obtained her Master of Arts in Public Relations at the Ghana Institute of Journalism.
Work and political experience
Ms Prempeh served as the Assembly member for the Lokoo Electoral Area of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly.