C/R: Parliament’s Gender committee interacts with opinion leaders

The Parliamentary Select Committee on Gender, Children, and Social Protection has met with various stakeholders in the Central Region to discuss gender-based issues and the way forward.

Issues such as teenage pregnancy, drug abuse gambling, child labour among others were discussed by the committee.

The committee is expected to present a report to Parliament for deliberation and recommendation.

Speaking to Citi News in Cape Coast, chairman for the Parliamentary Select Committee on Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr. Appiah Kube indicated that most of the issues discussed will be deliberated upon when the committee meets with the Gender Ministry and Parliament to find a lasting solution to them.

“So far we have managed to get a good report and it is interesting because we engaged chiefs, opinion leaders, NGO’s and various unit heads and I will say the result of this discussion has been fruitful and we will prepare a report that will be subjected to a debate on the floor of Parliament and then the speaker of Parliament will then make an order for government to execute the recommendations of the report,” Dr. Appiah Kube added.

Ranking Member for the committee on Gender Children and Social Protection, Madam Helen Adjoa Ntose who doubles as the Member of Parliament for Karachi West indicated that the lack of resources is making it difficult for the various units under the gender department to work.

She was optimistic that once a report is presented to Parliament and recommendations are made, it will help address some of these challenges.

The Ranking Member was also alarmed by the high rate of teenage pregnancies in the region which is in excess of over thirty thousand.

“When we went to the Western Region the number of teenage girls who got pregnant was in the region of 129 but in the Central Region it is about 30,000 children who are not able to continue their education as a result of teenage pregnancy so when we get to Accra we will invite the Gender Minister to deliberate and find lasting solution to the crises because the figures are a bit frightening,” the Ranking Member for the committee added”.