A flagbearer hopeful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has said the commercial business empire he seeks to build for the party would see women playing key roles towards its attainment.
He said women were the driving force behind any thriving economy, therefore, investing in them remained one of his topmost priorities.
According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census, there were 400,000 more females in Ghana than males. Out of the 30.8 million population, the females are 15.6 million as against 15.2 million males. The female population is now 50.7% of the total population with 49.3% being males.
Interacting with a cross-section of the media on the sidelines of his meeting with Electoral Area Coordinators in the Eastern Region who are part of Dr. Akoto’s Campaign Team at an event held in Koforidua on Tuesday, October 24, 2023, the former Minister of Food and Agriculture said the women’s wing of the party organises women at the grassroots and canvasses women votes for the NPP.
Their activities range from economic and social to political. He noted that the women’s wing of the NPP served as an avenue for political participation and recruitment, a platform that influences gender policies and advancing the cause of women.
Dr. Akoto, a Cambridge University Scholar, noted that considering these vital roles women played in the NPP, he intended to empower them to advance women’s interests and their welfare. He assured that inadequate allocation of funds to the women’s wing and male dominance in the parties’ affairs will receive serious attention under his leadership.
Dr. Akoto said, having identified over three million small-holder farmers in the country, majority of them who are women, incentivizing them with farming tools, fertilisers, and building on their capacities with technological knowhow would help improve their economic well-being.
According to the former two-term Member of Parliament (MP) for Kwadaso in the Ashanti Region, he would strengthen the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) and other institutions to take care of those in the value chain.
“In the value chain, women are a vital human resource. Some of them serve as middle-women, and they make a lot of money. I will empower them to expand. When women are empowered, the exponential effect is huge, and I am committed to doing it,” he stressed.
I look up to you
During his interaction with the Electoral Area Coordinators who are part of Dr Akoto’s campaign team, the astute politician noted that he is banking his hopes on them to crown him the presidential candidate position of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) when the party goes to the polls on November 4, 2023 to elect a presidential candidate.
He said now was the time for the grassroots delegates to make their voices heard through their votes, urging them to reward him with their votes to enable him to have their mandate to reform the NPP.
He told the delegates that they deserve a leader who understands the plight of the people and also have the right remedies to address all their concerns.
“I am on the only candidate who has demonstrated that attitude and proffered the time-honored solutions. So, please give me the chance to prove that to you. I am sad about the current situation of the party,” he noted.
The NPP goes to the polls on November 4, 2023, to select a presidential candidate who will lead the party to the 2024 general elections.
Dr. Akoto is number 3 on the ballot paper. He placed 4th in the Super Delegates Conference held on August 26, 2023.Over 210,000 delegates are expected to vote in the National Delegates Conference on November 4, 2023.
By Stephen Odoi-Larbi
