Improving Participation of Marginalized Groups (GH0039)

Problem to be addressed  The main problems to be solved are the continuing underrepresentation of women in political decision making, weak political participation of persons with disability and non-involvement of citizens and political parties in the selection of District chief executives who head local government in Ghana.

The commitment  Government to ensure progressive increase in women’s political participation at all levels of government, provide opportunities for the political participation of Persons with Disabilities and legalized political party participation in district level elections.

Contribution of commitment to solving problem This commitment will bring closure to several long-standing issues ● The problem of the underrepresentation of women in government, inadequate political participation of PWDs and associated problems. ● The non-involvement of political parties and citizens in the selection of district political heads which have been the target of civil society advocacy for years.

Relevance of commitment to OGP values  This commitment will deepen political participation for segments of society that have been marginalized and excluded from decision making for years

Additional information

Milestone Activity with a verifiable deliverable Start Date: End Date:  Amend Articles 243 (1) and 55(3) to enable citizens and political parties to participate in the election of Chief Executives and assembly members. Nov. 2021 June 2023  Enact into law the Affirmative Action Bill before the end of Nov. 2021 June 2023 Republic of Ghana - Open Government Partnership - NAP-4 18 December 2022 to increase women’s participation at all levels of decision making  Pass Persons with Disability Re-Enactment Bill and the accompanying legislative instrument by the end of December 2022 Nov. 2021 June 2023  Adopt a National Accessibility Strategy to guide the implementation of accessibility standards for PWDs and the aged by the end of December 2022. Nov. 2021 June 2023  •Decentralize the National Council for Persons with Disability in 8 regions of Ghana by end of December 2022. Nov. 2021 June 2023  •Link the disaggregated data base platform of the National Council for Persons with Disability with the National Identification Authority data base and the Open Data Platform for tax purposes and reliable data on persons with disability to inform policy formulation and implementation. Nov. 2021 June 2023

Action Plan Review

Commitment 12. Increasing Women and Persons with Disabilities' Political Participation

● Verifiable: Yes

● Does it have an open government lens? Yes

● Potential for results: Modest

This commitment provides a high-level overview of ambitious and broad reforms for women and persons with disabilities. However, the commitment text and interviews conducted did not provide a clear picture of how the commitment will increase citizens’ ability to access information, participate in government decision making, or hold officials to account. If revised, a focused list of milestones tied closely to direct open government outcomes could reveal this commitment’s full level of ambition. Specifically, those implementing this commitment could describe how the Affirmative Action Bill and Persons with Disability Re-Enactment Bill would establish channels for citizen participation in government decision making. Likewise, how will decentralizing the National Council for Persons with Disability increase persons with disabilities’ participation in government decision making? Specific information on expected changes to open government practices would facilitate evaluation of this commitment’s ambition and eventual early results.

Results Report

Commitment 12. Increasing Women and Persons with Disabilities’ Political Participation

The commitment aimed to enhance women’s political participation at all levels of government by reviewing the Constitution to allow election of Metropolitan Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) and provide opportunities for the political participation of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). MMDCEs are appointed by the President to oversee the administration of their respective districts. The list of MMDCEs released by the Minister of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development in 2019 includes 260 nominees, of which 38 are women. [112] CSOs such as The Center for Democratic Development (CDD) in Ghana have been at the forefront advocating for the election of MMDCEs. [113] According to a survey conducted by CDD [114] and Afrobarometer, [115] averagely 7 out of every 10 Ghanaians are in favor of the election of MMDCEs.

To strengthen political participation of PWDs, the commitment sought to re-enact the Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) Act, and its accompanying legislative instrument; decentralize the National Council for Persons with Disability in eight regions; and link the disaggregated data base platform of the National Council for Persons with Disability with the National Identification Authority data base for tax purposes and reliable data on persons with disability to inform policy formulation and implementation. Given the political nature of this commitment, the commitment text was updated in the revised action plan to better align with existing government processes and protocols, for example addition of an engagement process for the executive, legislature, and political parties to arrive at a decision as to whether to elect MMDCEs on partisan or non-partisan basis.

Reformers achieved some implementation of 3 of the 11 milestones. Draft documents for the Revised Persons with Disability Bill and the Decentralization Policy of the National Council for Persons with Disability were developed, but not approved. Milestone 11 sought to link the disaggregated data base platform of the National Council for Persons with Disability with the National Identification Authority data base and the Open Data Platform for tax purposes and reliable data on persons with disability to inform policy formulation and implementation. To this end, the self-assessment report indicates that the National Information Technology Agency undertook an assessment of the Council’s IT capacity and disaggregated database system to inform the operationalization of the data linkages system.

Since 2011, several iterations of the Affirmative Action Bill have been proposed but none have been successfully passed by parliament. The Affirmative Action (Gender Equality) Bill, 2020 was due to be presented to parliament in 2022 and was included in the 2022 Draft Agenda. However, the IRM researcher could not find any further evidence of progress beyond this.