Bagbin supports reforms to get more women in Parliament

The Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Sumana Bagbin, has given his support for electoral reforms to get more women into Parliament.

He said women in the country were culturally disadvantaged and many of them could not also subject themselves to the rough politics associated with political elections in the country and, therefore, needed support.

Mr Bagbin was speaking at the Parliamentary Constituency Forum in the Akuapem South Constituency at Aburi organised on the theme: “Deepening citizen’s engagement for better understanding of the legislature.”

Mr Bagbin said Parliament had recently approved a loan facility secured by the government for the upgrading of the Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital to be a referral hospital, with plans for its future development into a teaching hospital.

He said he had been talking with the chairman of the Board of Directors of COCOBOD for funding for the rehabilitation of facilities at the reception centre of the Tetteh Quarshie Cocoa Farm.

Support for hardworking MPs

Mr Bagbin defended the need for constituencies to support their Members of Parliament (MPs) who were doing well in Parliament and their constituencies for them to serve them for longer years in Parliament.

He explained that when an MP stayed longer in Parliament, apart from mastering the parliamentary procedure and helping Parliament to make better laws, those MPs also established the necessary contacts and network to attract more support for their constituencies.

The Minority Leader in Parliament, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, also called on the public to participate in the parliamentary procedure by sending memoranda to the Speaker of Parliament. He observed that one of the weaknesses of the Ghanaian Parliament was the bipartisan nature of Parliament.

He explained that the purpose of the forum was to bring Parliament closer to the people to enable them to appreciate their work.

Involving the people

The Majority Chief Whip, Mr Kwesi Ameyaw Kyeremeh, called on the public to use the parliamentary channels created for them to help enrich the laws passed by Parliament. He explained that people’s participation in the legislative process was important because wisdom did not rest in the heads of few people.

Mr Kyeremeh explained that to get more women into Parliament, there was the need for political parties to agree to reserve parliamentary seats in their safe constituencies for women in their parties.

The Vice Chairperson of the Parliamentary Women Caucus, Ms Comfort Doyoo Ganza, said out of the 275 MPs, only 37 were women. She, therefore, appealed to the electorate to help get more women into Parliament.

The MP for Akuapem South, Mr O.B. Amoah, said the government had sought a loan for the rehabilitation of the Kwabenya-Brekuso-Kitase road.

He said the minister of Roads and Highways had inspected the Aburi-Nsawam road and promised to have ramps constructed at the appropriate places to help reduce speeding to protect pedestrians.