The President of IMANI Ghana, Franklin Cudjoe believes the affirmative action policy of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is a means through which the party is seeking to gain the approval of the Ghanaian electorate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is becoming a bit more sectarian and a bit more playing to the gallery,\u201d he said, and further alleged that it is not just the NPP which is using affirmative action as an electoral tool but \u201cthe NDC I hear is planning to do something similar.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last week, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the NPP adopted a proposal which will allow only females to contest incumbent female Members of Parliament (MPs).<\/p>\n
The controversial decision was received with mixed reactions from party members and the general public.<\/p>\n
Women groups<\/strong> <\/span><\/a>have thrown their support behind the NPP\u2019s affirmative action decision while some party members have registered their displeasure by demanding a review of the policy.<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n The party\u2019s National Women\u2019s Organizer, Otiko Afisa Djaba apologized to aggrieved NPP members<\/strong><\/span><\/a> over the matter but defended the decision, insisting that it is a policy that must be adopted nationally to help drive the economy of the country.<\/p>\n On Citi FM\u2019s<\/strong> news analysis programme, The Big Issue<\/strong><\/em> on Saturday, Franklin Cudjoe argued that although it is a good policy, \u201cwe shouldn\u2019t reduce this whole fight for the economic well-being of a country to necessarily to a gender one because the evils that we are afflicted with are gender neutral.\u201d<\/p>\n He indicated that at least, in Ghana, \u201cwe\u2019ve come that far\u201d in ensuring gender equality.<\/p>\n Cudjoe added that getting more women into Parliament on the ticket of the NPP is an \u201cinternal problem that they [NPP] want to cure and it\u2019s probably strategic because they probably are aware that the NDC, the CPP, the PPP and everybody else wants to do this stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n Financial Analyst, Sydney Casely-Hayford on his part said: \u201cIf the NPP wants to put in a policy to positively affirm women\u2019s rights to be able to become Parliamentarians or Ministers, it is only the NPP\u2019s problem. It is not our problem because they are a political party and a group of members following an agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n By: Efua Idan Osam\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana
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