SIAKON MEDIA

Nana Konadu: 31st December Women’s Movement has not shut down

STATEMENT BY NANA KONADU AGYEMAN RAWLINGS, PRESIDENT OF THE 31ST DECEMBER WOMEN’S MOVEMENT ON RUMOURS MAKING THE ROUNDS THAT THE MOVEMENT HAS CLOSED ITS OPERATIONS

The leadership of the 31st December Women’s Movement (DWM) has learnt with shock and surprise false information being spread to its membership that the movement has been shut down because its President is now a national executive member of the NDC.

These reports are untrue and clear machinations by those who fail to appreciate the unique role the DWM has played and continues to play in the socioeconomic development of women and children in Ghana. They are anti-women, not gender sensitive and have long worked against the progress of the movement.

Competent members drawn from the length and breadth of the country handle the affairs of the DWM and we have a strong national executive and management structure that is still in place and operating on a permanent basis.

Our role in developing the worth of Ghanaian womanhood through education, introduction to business skills and campaigning for protective legislation is an ongoing process and the DWM will not waver in that regard.

All members and sympathisers of the movement are to remain resolute and ignore false rumours making the rounds.

As President of the movement I will continue to exert my energies to the objectives of the DWM and ask all members and sympathisers to do the same.


Signed:……………………………………………………

Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings

Accra, Oct. 15, GNA - A three-day conference to discuss key issues of the global financial crisis on Africa's economies and its impact on women in the respective sub-regions opened in Accra on Thursday.

Speaking at the meeting on the theme 'Africa-wide Dialogue on Gender, Africa and the Global Financial Economic Crises,' Dr Yao Graham, Coodinator Third World Network Africa, said despite indications that some countries were showing signs of recovery from the financial crisis, Africa countries were still reeling under the weight of the crisis.

He said the crisis was an indication of the failure of the free market system and the prescriptions of the International Financial Institutions and urged African countries to develop their own programmes towards development.

He said the impact of the crisis on the African continent is being shown in the declining levels of Foreign Direct Investment, sharp falls in remittances with serious implications for household consumption and the drastic drop in commodity prices, which is the mainstay for African economies.

He urged the participants to examine critically the impact of the crisis and the implications for women.

Dr Sheila Bunwaree, a lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Mauritius, said official development assistance was on decline despite commitments and pledges made by donor countries to scale up support.

She said the crisis should open a chapter of negotiations of new forms of relationship and institutions, which could provide equal opportunities to both the developed and the developing countries.

As a first step, Dr Bunwaree said, commitment was required from all, especially the developed countries to live by their pledges and accelerate the disbursement of financial aid.

Besides, there must be changes in the global financial architecture by allowing African government to determine the policy choices opened to them.

Dr Bunwaree expressed the hope that the three-day discussion would bring out the real impact of the crisis on women.

Some of the topics lined up are Finance and Financing Women's Economic Activity, Government Revenue and Expenditure and Gender and Employment and Livelihoods: Issues for Social Protection and Policy.

GNA

Accra, Oct. 15, GNA - The Head of Labour Research and Policy Institute of Trades Union Congress (TUC), Mr. Kwabena Nyarko Otoo, has urged civil societies to strengthen unions for them to effectively engage government to make the distribution of revenue such as oil and gas wealth more equitable.    

He said trade unions have a role to play in making sure that wealth from oil and gas make a positive impact on the people thus becoming a blessing and not a curse as had always been the case in many countries.

Mr. Otoo was speaking at a two day seminar organised by the TUC in collaboration with Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO-Norway) and the General Transport, Petroleum and Chemical Workers' Union (GTPCWU) in Accra.

He said the biggest challenge faced by most oil producing countries are equitable distribution of revenue, good governance on all levels in exploration activities, transparency in decision making processes, democratic participation in processes concerning explorations.

He said the emergence of oil in Africa has led to abandonment of other important sectors such as manufacturing, health and education "but I believe Ghana would be different".

"Oil has also undermined democracy in all these countries and had led to military coups, prolonged dictatorships and civil conflicts, weakness of civil society organisations which lack the information and resources to hold governments accountable".

Mr. Otoo said since Ghana had found its oil in the midst of these uncomfortable economic, political and social developments in Africa, there was the need for a vibrant media, strong civil society, constant oversight activities and legitimate and effective frame work for the conduct of public policy and a big push in transparency.

Mr. Otoo advised that the oil revenue should not be diverted into massive importation of cheap consumables which would undermine local production, adding," we have to put up the right structures to manage the oil money otherwise Ghana would be as other oil countries".

Mr. Emmanuel Amstrong Mensah, Ghana Secretary of GTPCWU of TUC, said production of oil in many countries in the continent has not brought about high standard of living for the people hence the need for trade unions in Ghana to take up the oil and gas industry as a priority issue to protect the interest of workers and citizens to make oil a blessing and not a curse.

"We will take proactive measures to demand for our participation in the whole process to secure good working conditions, wages and benefits because the industry in particularly is dangerous to the health of the people, hence the need to attain strict health and safety regulations at the production places.

GNA