By Bertha Badu-Agyei
Accra, July 16, GNA- Madam Betty Krosbi-Mensah, Member of Parliament for Afram-Plains North, says the selection of Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyeman, as the Vice-Presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is a strong commitment of the party towards women empowerment.
“Former President Mahama in particular and the NDC in general have shown that they are ready to give women the needed push and support in governance having chosen a female running mate two times.”
In the fight for gender inclusiveness and women’s empowerment through the passing of the affirmative action law, “we must recognize leaders such as President Mahama who has broken the ceiling and chosen a woman to that level and support them to continue the path they have charted in that direction,” she said.
“Women’s inclusion and women’s perspective in governance especially in the legislative space was critical for national development and could not be discounted under any circumstance and that called for support to leaders who had shown the commitment.”
Speaking in an interview with the GNA Gender desk, she appealed to women’s rights activists and all well-meaning Ghanaians who believed in the women’s perspective to step up the fight for women’s inclusion because the space was male-dominated and therefore difficult for women without any intentional support measure.
Ms Krosbi-Mensah, the sole NDC female Member of Parliament in the Eastern region since 2016, has bid for the third time to contest in the upcoming general election.
Ms Krosbi-Mensah whose father was once the MP for the area, has an honorary doctorate degree, M.A. in Development Communication and a B.A in Business Administration.
She served as the deputy director of the National Youth Employment Programme from 2009-2013 and has been an active youth and gender advocate.
In the last seven years, she has worked hard to improve the well-being and living conditions of the people of Afram Plains North, which is a deprived district with several island communities dotted along the Volta River.
There has been massive infrastructure development in the areas of education and health with the construction of three Community Health Planning Services (CHPS) compounds to serve some of the most far-reaching settlements namely Fasobetor, Ademupe and Abotanso communities.
She also initiated the construction of 20 pavilions to help with schools under trees in the island communities and currently “there is an ongoing project to instal solar energy for about 90 island communities scattered along the Volta lake, to improve their economic lives as there was no electricity.
Apart from the infrastructure developments, the MP recounted her efforts in combating child trafficking and teenage pregnancies, which were extremely high in the area, through concerted efforts and commitment to reduce them to the barest minimums.
“I have done a lot as the people’s representative and raised their standard of living over the years, but more needs to be done and that is my motivation for contesting these coming elections to continue with what is left.
“Every woman is seen as a mother and so voting for a woman means a lot in terms of nurturing and commitment to duty.”
The Afram Plains North is one of the 33 constituencies in the Eastern region and is considered as a safe seat for the NDC.
GNA