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Mr Akolgo Samuel, a Senior Civic Education Officer of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in the Upper East Region, has observed that women are the best managers of the country�s state institutions. The Senior Civic Education Officer made the observation when he addressed stakeholders including traditional and religious leaders, women and youth groups, and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) at separate functions in Garu, Pusiga, Bawku West Districts and the Bawku Municipal, to encourage them to support more women to win the forthcoming District Assembly Elections scheduled for next year. He stressed that apart from women being the best managers at home it had also been proven beyond reasonable doubt that they were the best managers of the country�s state institutions. �Women who are given the chance to manage state institutions have proven that they are the best managers of those institutions. Since our democratic dispensation from 1992 to date, all government officials who have been hurled before the law courts to answer charges of corruption, misapplication or misappropriation of funds were or are men and not women. This clearly shows that women unlike men are transparent and careful in managing state institutions,� Mr Akolgo said. He cited the former speaker of Parliament, Justice Joyce Bamford Addo, the former acting Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Ms Anna Bossman, the former head of training at the Agricultural Development Bank, Mrs. Gloria Lamprey and the current Chairperson of NCCE Mrs Charlotte Osei among others who have demonstrated that women when given the opportunity could help develop the country. �Our ill feelings or mentality towards women holding public office must change and change for the better. Some years back, and even now, some people believed that a woman�s place is restricted to the four corners of the kitchen. �Women of today are more sophisticated, vibrant and intelligent and have all it takes to properly and effectively manage any state institution given the chance and the encouragement. Let�s give chance to the women and they will never disappoint us, as records have shown that they are the best managers of the economy� he stressed. Mr Akolgo stated that statistics indicated that the participation of women and People With Disability (PWDs) in Ghana�s Parliament and Local Governance has since 1960 been underrepresented and cited for instance that at the local level, statistics showed that 122 women were elected as Assembly Members nationwide as against 4,082 males in 1994, 196 women in 1998 as against 4,624 males, the year 2000 saw 341 women against 4,241 males and in 2006 recorded 433 elected women as against 4,301 men. He stated that in the case of the Upper East Region, in 2010 the total contestants for the District Assembly Election were 896 out of which women were 70. After the elections only 23 women were elected. However the total number of Assembly Members in the Region stands at 519. �Out of this 153 were government appointees. Out of the appointees, only 43 women were appointed as against 110 men. Bawku Municipal and Bawku West District declared zero tolerance for women during the 2010 District Assembly elections,� Mr. Akolgo said. Mr Akologo said it required a more determined and coordinated set of actions by the media, women themselves, gender advocates, traditional authorities, political parties and government institutions particularly the decentralization system to bring about a positive change to ensure that more women were given the opportunity in the country�s decision-making process. He called on the media to project women who show interest in contesting the District Assembly and Unit Committee elections and also entreated Religious and Traditional leaders and youth leaders to also support women and PWDs in the upcoming District level elections.