Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, has accused the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of putting pressure on the House to enact a number of laws under a certificate of urgency.
Mr. Bagbin mentioned measures like the Affirmative Action Bill, which is supposedly being pushed by the IMF as a requirement for the rest of Ghana’s $3 billion loan facility.
Alban Bagbin, speaking at the Speaker’s Breakfast Meeting on Monday,November 20th, stressed that the House will not be forced to support the measure by the IMF.
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“Even in this budget, you can see the arm of the IMF in a lot of provisions in the budget. A critical bill like the Affirmative Action Gender Equality Bill has come to Parliament under a certificate of urgency. Please, it won’t happen; we won’t pass it under a certificate of urgency.”
“There are critical stakeholders we must consult and make sure we go together. We will not be dictated by the IMF; that one, you can be assured. This is a very critical bill that the IMF should know that we need the buy-in of the stakeholders to be able to implement it,” Alban Bagbin said.
When put into law, the Affirmative Action Bill would strive to eliminate women’s historically low representation in decision-making areas while also promoting democracy and development via all-inclusive participation.