The Upper West Regional branch of the Affirmative Action Coalition in Ghana has asked the President of the Republic, John Dramani Mahama, to reject the list of the shortlisted candidates for consideration for the appointment as Municipal and District Chief Executives in the region.

It said accepting the list for consideration would mean that no woman would be appointed as a DCE in the region and that was contrary to the campaign promise of 30 per cent women representation in government made by the President.

The coalition said it was surprising that out of the 33 names submitted by the Vetting Committee to the President for consideration, not a single woman was part.  

“This is clearly not right and it is unacceptable. How are we to believe that no woman in Ghana's Upper West Region is qualified or worthy for appointment to the position of District or Municipal Chief Executive?” it asked.

Rejection

Addressing the media in Wa, the Convener of the coalition, Lydia Darlington Fordjour, said: “We, the Affirmative Action Coalition Group in the Upper West Region, totally reject the shortlisted candidates for the positions of MDCEs.”

“We are firm in our demand that His Excellency the President must, as a matter of urgency, reject the said list submitted to him by the vetting committee in the Upper West Region,” she added.

The coalition, therefore, called on the President to be bold, intentional and deliberate in appointing qualified and competent women of the Upper West Region to support in delivering his well-intended ‘Reset Agenda’ in Ghana.

The group asked that at least four out of the 11 DCE positions in the region be given to women as a fulfilment of the campaign promise of a legacy government and the affirmative action law.

“It is bad enough that the Upper West Region does not have a single female Member of Parliament (MP) and has not had one in the last eight years..

We cannot fall behind as women in the development of our region.

“Even though there were no women in the last Parliament from the Upper West Region, we had three female DCEs.

“How do we move from three to zero when the affirmative action law has been passed and we have a president who promised to have at least 30 per cent of women in his government,” she said.

Ms Fordjour, therefore, reiterated the call on the President to be intentional and deliberate in the appointment of capable women to help him deliver on his legacy mandate.

“We, the women, have the knowledge, the capacity, the experience and passion to lead change in driving His Excellency's Vision to Reset Ghana,” she stated.