Accra: The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has advised women to resist any form of temptation, particularly sexual advances from people in leadership positions when seeking support or services. It encouraged women to always uphold their dignity and self-respect, even in the face of harassment and intimidation. Mr Hussein Elyasu, the Sissala East Municipal Director of NCCE, said this in Timu during a sensitisation forum on the 'Strengthening the Rule of Law and the Fight Against Corruption in Ghana' project.
According to Ghana News Agency, the forum brought together about 50 participants from women groups such as faith-based organisations, traders and market women associations, women in co-operatives, and women farmers, among others. It sought to empower the participants with knowledge of their civic rights, legal protections, and corruption reporting mechanisms to enable them to resist corruption and promote transparency and accountability. The NCCE organised the forum in partnership with the Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Ghana's Ministry of Finance under the 'Participation, Accountability and Integrity for a Resilient Democracy (PAIReD)' programme.
The programme was commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and co-financed by the European Union (EU) and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). Mr Elyasu noted that women were vulnerable to corruption and abuse of power, especially in accessing public services such as healthcare, education, and market regulation, and called for vigilance and courage in reporting corrupt practices.
Mr Adamu Yakubu Bening, the Sissala East Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), appealed to the women not to remain silent in the face of wrongdoing but to take an active role in the development of their communities. He cautioned them against aiding corruption, including buying construction materials meant for community projects as that would reduce the quality of those projects.
Mr Bening also urged women, especially traders, to help the Assembly prevent revenue leakages by insisting on official receipts on monies paid and reporting revenue collectors who failed to issue them receipts. The MCE also discouraged the practice of giving food items to revenue collectors instead of paying cash, as that constituted corruption.
Mr Moses Batong, the Programmes Manager of Save Ghana, also advised leaders of the various women groups to exhibit transparency and accountability in managing and disbursing funds under their Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA). 'Advocate for change in the management of markets in the municipality in a way that will offer you a safe and conducive environment to trade,' he said.
The participants appealed to the Sissala East Municipal Assembly to appoint women as revenue collectors and to involve them in decision-making processes, particularly in issues that concern the interest of women. They also called on the Assembly to facilitate free trade between traders in the Municipality and Burkina Faso by engaging with authorities in Burkina Faso to allow Ghanaian women to sell their products directly in Burkinabe markets without using middlemen.
