President Nana Akufo-Addo has so far appointed 18 women as Ministers and Deputies to serve in Ministries and Regions.
They include the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tano North in the Ahafo Region and former Deputy Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Freda Prempeh, who has been nominated as Minister of State-Designate for Works and Housing.
The former Minister of State responsible for Procurement, Sarah Adwoa Safo, now heads the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection.
Mavis Hawa Koomsoon, who is the former Special Initiatives Minister, now heads the Fisheries Ministry.
Cecilia Abena Dapaah and Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey get to retain their seats at the Sanitation and Water Resources and the Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Ministries respectively.
Ursula Owusu-Ekuful also retained her Ministry, however. It has been given additional responsibility as it’s been recaptured as the Communications and Digitalization Ministry.
Two of the women have been appointed to head Regional Ministries and they are Justina Marigold Assan and Justina Owusu-Banahene have been nominated as Ministers for the Central and Bono Regions respectively.
The Deputy Ministers are Abena Osei-Asare, for the Finance ministry, whilst Nana Dokua Asiamah Adjei, go to the Trade and Industry ministry.
Ms. Diana Asonaba Dapaah head for the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice and Madam Gifty Twum-Ampofo and Mr. John Ntim Fordjuor has been nominated for the Education Ministry.
Honorable Tina Gifty Mensah has been named as Deputy for the Health Ministry and Naana Eyiah Quansah has been nominated for the Interior Ministry, Lariba Zuweira Abudu, Gender, Children and Social Protection and Fatimatu Abubakar, Information.
In April 2017, 36 of the 212 persons named by President Akufo-Addo to occupy the vacant positions of Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) across the country are women.
This represents only 17% of the total list announced by the Minister for Local Government, Hajia Alima Mahama in Accra today [Wednesday].
The Brong Ahafo Region had the most number of women appointees followed by the Greater Accra Region, with 6 and 5 women respectively to occupy the position.
President Akufo-Addo ahead of his election to office gave assurances that he would appoint more female appointees to serve in his government as a way of encouraging women’s participation in the governance process.
His New Patriotic Party (NPP) election 2016 manifesto promised to appoint at least thirty percent (30%) of women into public office positions.
Out of the 37 substantive and regional ministers named by the President, only 10 of them, representing 27% females.
Source: Mybrytfmonline.com/Kofi Atakora
