Members of the Our Lady of Mercy (OLAM) Kaana Manga Women Association at Navrongo in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality in the Upper East Region have called on political parties to, as a matter of urgency, unveil their manifestos to enable eligible voters, particularly women, to make informed choices during the November polls.
According to the association, the timely release of the political parties’ manifestos was necessary and would enable them to know the kind of packages they had for them and their children and to hold them accountable after the elections.
Speaking to newsmen at Navrongo, Madam Patricia Kanluke, the spokesperson for the group, expressed concern over the delay by the political parties in releasing their manifestos. She noted that women had been relegated to the background for far too long.
“Political parties have relegated us, as women, to the background for far too long and we will not sit down this time round for them to cheat us. After unveiling their manifestos we will ensure that whichever party wins the election implements the issues relating to women and children as stated in their manifestos,” Madam Kanluke further stressed.
Radio programme
As a way of making their voices heard, the association, through a radio programme dubbed” Kaana Manga”, literally meaning women’s time in the Kasim language, has been asking political parties to inform them about what they have in stock for women and their children. The programme is being organised by Nabina FM, a local FM station based in Navrongo, in collaboration with Our Lady of Mercy (OLAM) Community Service, a non-governmental organisation.
The Project Director of OLAM, Mr Emmanuel Atiga, explained that the radio programme, which is being sponsored by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA ), was aimed at whipping up the interest of many women to actively participate in the political processes of the country, particularly at the grass roots.
He expressed regret that in spite of the fact that women formed the majority of the population in the country, only few of them participated in the political processes of the country.
Women representation
Mr Atiga pointed out, for instance, that the Kassena-Nankana Municipal Assembly had only one woman representing the women in the area and said that scenario cut across all the 13 districts in the region.
He expressed optimism that the programme would rekindle the spirit of women to actively participate in the decision-making process.
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