Dr. Clement Apaak, Member of Parliament for Builsa South is full of praise for the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Honourable Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, for the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill.
Dr. Apaak, speaking on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show said the Affirmative Action Bill, which has been successfully passed by Ghana’s Parliament, has a history spanning more than a decade.
He stressed that different parliaments failed to reach a resolution.
“If you want to trace the history of that bill, it is beyond thirteen years. It has been one of the longest bills to be passed in parliament,” he stated.
He noted that the process often requires starting anew with each new parliament, which has contributed to the extended timeline for passing the bill. “The way parliament works is that when you have a parliament considering certain bills and that parliament is not able to bring them to the expected resolution in passing them, when there is a new parliament, you’ll have to go and start all over again. You can’t just continue from where you left off.”
The MP commended the current Speaker of Parliament for his proactive approach, including the introduction of new standing orders and the establishment of new caucuses, such as the Disability Caucus, of which Dr. Apaak is the president.
He attributed part of the bill’s success to the balanced composition of the current Parliament, which has prevented any single side from dominating proceedings. “I think we also benefitted greatly from the current hung parliament. Because the numbers are not lopsided and we are even, it is difficult for one side to throw its weight around. You simply cannot throw your weight around because if you do, fire will burn you,” he said.
He added that as the bill is passed, hopes are high that the president of the Republic of Ghana will endorse it by signing. “Now that we have done our part, it will have to go to the president and I’m sure he’ll append his signature to it.”
The bill, Dr. Apaak highlighted, aims at giving both genders equal opportunities in serving the nation. “So we expect expedited action so that we can get it into law so women – our wives, our daughters, our mothers – can take their rightful positions in every facet of our endeavor as Ghanaians.”
Source: A1Radioonline.Com|101.1MHZ|Gifty Eyram Kudiabor|Bolgatanga|
