A three (3) day workshop on Social Inclusion (SI) has been held for the STAR-Ghana Programme Management Team (PMT) in Accra. The purpose of the workshop was to increase the understanding, confidence and effectiveness in SI programming among the PMT.
In August 2017, STAR-Ghana conducted a Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) audit in which the operationalization of the principle of ‘GESI at the heart of STAR-Ghana’ was critiqued. Generally, while there was considerable evidence in support of STAR-Ghana’s advancement of GESI in the different arms, a few pointers were highlighted for improvement.
At a PMT validation meeting, some recommendations were made. Key among them was the need to clarify STAR-Ghana’s expectations of staff in relation to GESI and supporting them to meet same. To ensure that the PMT understand and implement these effectively, a Social Inclusion (SI) Tool Kit was developed with support from Social Development Direct (SDD), a consortium partner of the STAR-Ghana Programme.
The PMT reviewed the SI Tool Kit and among others shared practical, easy-to use tools for SI, and practised the embedding of GESI in different work streams within the STAR-Ghana programme. The Team was privileged to have Mr Alex Bankole Williams of the University of Ghana Assistive Tecnology Lab, and Member of the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFD). Mr Williams highlighted key protocols that need to be observed in programming to achieve optimum inclusion.
Participants at the event included the STAR-Ghana PMT, a representative of SDD and Staff of Christian Aid Ghana Country office.
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Report on the First Session of the Seventh Parliament
Press release
Ghana ushered in its Seventh Parliament on January 7, 2017, after its general elections the previous year that transferred both Executive and Legislative Control to the New Patriotic Party (NPP). The 275-member single-Chamber House conducted business of remarkable scope with considerable briskness in its inaugural year.
In January 2018, Ghana celebrated 25 years of Parliamentary democratic governance: the most enduring of all the Republican Parliamentary democracies in the country’s history. While the last 25 years of multiparty parliamentary democracy in Ghana has been stable, it has had its own governance problems. For instance, since 1993, Ghana has almost become a two-party state, with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) dominating and alternating power on a two four-year terms basis. This dominance by the two main political parties, coupled with some lapses in our 1992 constitution and Parliament’s apparent acquiescence to the Executive, appears to have compromised the oversight functions of the Ghanaian Parliament.
Odekro’s report on the First Session of the Seventh Parliament assesses Speaker Oquaye’s nine-point ambitious agenda to transform and improve parliamentary effectiveness; looks at the volume and speed of passage of Bills and policy priorities of Akufo-Addo’s government along specific sectors; the extent to which parliamentary committees engaged relevant publics in the consideration of important Bills; examines gender related matters in Parliament as well as the dynamics of MP-Constituent relations; and finally, attempts to explain why Speakers of Parliament are unable to enforce Article 97(1)(c).
Below is a summary of the findings:
1. Though Speaker Oquaye has been and is a staunch advocate for review of some aspects of the 1992 constitution, however, his silence on Article 78(1) is problematic. Article 78(1) empowers the President to appoint majority of his Ministers from Parliament. 34 of the 71 Ministers and Deputy Ministers appointed from Parliament, representing 47.8% violated chronically absented themselves from parliamentary sittings, thus violating Article 97(1)(c).
2. The First Session of the Seventh Parliament reviewed over 20 Bills and on average, nearly passed all these Bills (over 90% approval rate) and used on average 29.4 days to approve a Bill. Legislative activity on amendments to tax Acts and local governance issues, mostly done under certificate of emergency, generally took less than a day to be ratified. They include the Local Governance (Amendment) Bill, 2017; Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2017; Special Petroleum Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2017; Customs and Excise (Petroleum Taxes and Petroleum Related Levies) 2017; Special Import Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2017; and Appropriation Bill, 2017.
Most of the bills laid before Parliament, during the First Session, stemmed from the ruling party’s (NPP) 2016 Manifesto – notably the three development bills, the Office of the Special Prosecutor Bill (2017), and amendments/repeal to tax acts. But then, as indicated earlier, the government was keen on getting the economic fundamentals in shape; hence the comparatively faster speed with which the tax amendments were ratified against the Development Bills and Office of the Special Prosecutor Bill (2017). Besides economic growth, exactly how these tax amendments will materially improve local businesses, the working conditions of workers in the sectors affected and the general economic wellbeing of Ghanaians is yet to be established with empirical evidence. It should also be stated that whilst the tax acts involved simple amendments and repeal, the Development Bills and Special Prosecutor Bill (2017) were newly introduced bills conceptualized from scratch and therefore had to be subjected to the full processes of law making.
3. Three MPs never absented themselves without written permission of the Speaker. They are Emmanuel Agyei Anhwere (MP, Atwima-Nwabiagya South), Habib Saad (MP, Bortianor-Ngleshie-Amanfro) and Twumasi Kwame Ampofo (MP, Sene West).
4. In total, 54 MPs absented themselves without written permission of the Speaker from 15 sittings and above in clear violation of Article 97(1)(c). Their chronic absenteeism resulted in a GHS1.4million direct monetary cost to tax paying Ghanaians.
5. There are few women in Parliament partly because some systemic and socio-cultural barriers still exist. Speaker Michael Oquaye’s vision of ensuring the passage of the Affirmative Action law is yet to materialize and perhaps the Second Session of Parliament might offer a glimmer of hope. An in-depth analysis of women candidates contesting for Parliamentary seats and the experiences of women MPs in the Seventh Parliament will be conducted in a separate report. Speaker of Parliament Professor Michael Oquaye has long advocated more women in Ghana’s Parliament. In his research paper “Reserving Special Seats for Women in Parliament: Issues and Obstacles” published in 2012, the Speaker recommended that reserved seats be adopted in Ghana as one of the ways of increasing the number of women MPs. It is imperative that the Speaker ensure the passage of the Affirmative Action law during his tenure. The current men to women ratio 6:1 is disturbing and does not offer an accurate representation of the gender distribution of the population. Although there is no observable significant difference between men and women MPs’ rate of absenteeism, the stark numerical disparity between the sexes coupled with the ministerial status of some women MPs makes it difficult to draw very accurate conclusions in respect of the performance of women MPs.
Credit:
Odekro
June 13, 2018
STAR-Ghana celebrates two members of the Gender Equality Social Inclusion (GESI) Reference Group
Two members of the STAR-Ghana Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Reference Group: Dr. Rose Mensah-Kutin and Mr. Yaw Ofori Debra have been awarded the 2018 Martin Luther King, Jr. Award for Peace and Social Justice at a ceremony at the residence of the U.S. Ambassador to Ghana, Robert P. Jackson on March 22, 2018. Since 2008, the U.S. Embassy has presented the award annually to one or more Ghanaian citizens who exemplify the spirit of American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. Mensah-Kutin was recognized for her indefatigable work as a champion for women’s rights. As Director of the West African Regional Office of ABANTU for Development since 2000, Dr. Mensah-Kutin has relentlessly pursued gender equality in public policy. One of her hallmark achievements was the creation of the 2004 Women’s Manifesto for Ghana, which articulated concrete steps to address the disparate treatment women still face in their daily lives. Dr. Mensah-Kutin was a leading advocate for the passage of the Local Governance Act of 2016, which included many gender-specific provisions. In the lead-up to the 2016 elections, Dr. Mensah-Kutin led efforts to ensure women voters were given the tools to make educated choices at the ballot box. She has tirelessly advocated for the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill, and seeks constantly to empower the next generation of women leaders in Ghana.
Mr. Debra was honored for his lifelong fight for the rights of persons with disabilities. As a student leader in the 1980s, Mr. Debra lobbied the government for payment of reading allowances for visually impaired students in tertiary institutions. In January 2005, he became the president of the Ghana Federation of Disability Organizations. He mobilized disability organizations to effectively advocate for the passage of the Ghana Disability Act and for Ghana’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He was influential in instituting the National Disability Day and coordinating media and parliamentary caucuses to endorse disability advocacy. During the 2016 elections, he urged Ghanaians to assist family members to vote if they face accessibility issues and supported the Ghana Blind Union’s work to improve accessibility of polling sites. Mr. Debra played a critical role in ensuring that all citizens could participate in the democratic process and have their votes counted.
Ambassador Jackson congratulated Dr. Rose Mensah-Kutin and Mr. Debra for courageously taking a stand for justice. He noted that “Dr. King taught us that the greatness of a nation is not defined and shaped by its government. A nation is defined and shaped by its people. People who aren’t afraid to stand up and say, ‘I deserve equal access to my democracy. I deserve equal access to education. I deserve equal access to opportunity.’”
The GESI Reference Group (GRG) is a multi-stakeholder community of gender, vulnerability and civil society experts appointed by the Steering Committee (SC) as a critical friend and sounding board in the development and implementation of the STAR-Ghana GESI strategy. As the name suggests the GRG’s primary purpose is advisory: providing reference to the SC, the Programme Management Team (PMT) and grant partners on the development and implementation of GESI strategies at all levels of programme implementation.
Photo and story credit: US Embassy
STAR-Ghana Social Inclusion (SI) Practitioners Gathering
A three-day (26th – 28th March 2018) gathering is being organised at Eastern Premier Hotel, Koforidua for the STAR-Ghana GESI/Media grant partners to support in strengthening the practice of Social Inclusion (SI) in Ghana. The objectives of the training are to:
- Build a conceptual understanding of social inclusion in Ghana – these sessions will create space to draw on and distil the experiences of grant partners, conceptualise social inclusion in a way that makes sense in Ghana, come up with protocols for engaging and empowering groups in marginalised situations.
- Build capacity to institutionalise GESI - to understand and build organisations responsiveness to GESI. To create space for reflecting on the practice of GESI within our own organisations through practicalizing the tools.
- Develop capacity to mainstream GESI in programmes and projects and increasE understanding of how practitioners can contribute to movement building of social excluded groupS.
A tool kit on Social Inclusion (S.I) which has been developed with support from consortium partner Social Development Direct (SDD) would be the direct resource for the training.The training would be looking at topics or areas such as:
- Conceptualising Social Inclusion (SI) and Social Exclusion (SE)
- Key concepts and terminologies
- The many faces of power – putting on the Political economy analysis (PEA) lenses
- Principles of “Do no harm”
- GESI Budgeting
- GESI Communication
We hope that through this gathering, we would have a community of SI practitioners that are strengthened and committed to the processes that advance inclusion and equality for all in Ghana.