Daughter of veteran journalist, Kwesi Pratt and Channel Manager of Pan African Television, Ama Pratt has expressed disappointment over the nomination and subsequent approval of the Member of Parliament for the Awutu Senya East Constituency, Mavis Hawa Koomson as Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture.
According to her, the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture lacks the competence to properly represent women in the country in such high public office and to deliver in furtherance of the course for women empowerment hence, her appointment is a major setback to the struggle by women in the country for representation in key decision-making positions.
Taking on the NPP’s government and Parliament for her appointment, Miss Pratt intimated that the minister’s appointment is an act of tokenism and not a genuine effort to achieve gender balance as she believes there are many women in the ruling party who are competent and highly qualified to have been considered for the position.
She said while it is important that women be given key roles in the governance of the country, such roles must not be given to women who lack the competence and capacity to deliver as their inabilities to deliver will militate against the course to have more women represented in high public offices.
“I think that proper representation is the representation we, women need. I fight against tokenism and I fight against putting any women in positions just because they are women because that works against us. If it is about empowerment of women, are we saying that within the NPP, Hawa Koomson is the only and most qualified for the position of the Fisheries Ministry? Are we saying that within the NPP, there was no other woman who could represent us properly? This is the woman you want to put out there so that she goes to the ministry and perform like they way she did at the Appointments Committee so that men will say women are incompetent? This is the reason we speak so strongly against tokenism because we don’t want you to put a woman there that will work against what we are fighting for.
We want the best out up there. We want women that will go and represent us well like Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang that we can be proud of. But the NPP for whatever reason chose Hawa Koomson who failed at her vetting and then Parliament failed us by approving her,” she said on Pan African Television.
Madam Hawa Koomson became a subject of public ridicule and criticism after she failed to answer basic questions about the ministry she was being vetted for.
Many Ghanaians especially on social media could not fathom why the president would nominate her for such position considering her lack of knowledge in the sector and called on parliament to reject her nomination.
Although the minority MPs on the Appointments Committee rejected her nomination, she was massively endorsed by both sides of Parliament when the report of the committee was laid in the plenary for consideration.
