A seven-member delegation from the European Parliament has ended a three-day visit to Ghana with a call for increased women representation in parliament.
Head of the delegation, Norbert Neuser, addressing journalists at a round-off meeting, in Accra, yesterday, urged that Ghana “pushes hard in promoting gender equality because during our visit, we realised there were very few women in parliament”.
The visit afforded the delegation the opportunity to meet with their Ghanaian counterparts as well as other key stakeholders in government, civil society organisations and the private sector as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral ties between Ghana and Japan.
The parliamentarians also had the chance to visit some European Union (EU) funded projects to assess progress of work and explore other investment opportunities in Ghana.
Projects inspected include the Logs and Lumber Limited, a wood processing company, in Kumasi, and a cocoa plantation in Bekwai, all in Ashanti Region.
The team also visited the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Multinational Maritime Coordination Centre and Agbogbloshie E-waste management site, in Accra.
Mr Neuser lauded Ghana for championing principles of democracy on the African continent, urging that it strengthens cooperation with civil society and private sector to address challenges militating against its development.
“We have been looking at how Ghana is faring in the implementation of the SDGs in terms of education, environment among others and though we are doing well and on course, there is more room for development,” Mr Neuser.
He expressed satisfaction with progresses made so far on EU-funded projects and the positive impact on society saying, “It shows that money that comes into Ghana are being put into good use.”
Touching on start-up businesses and opportunities available to support such ideas, Mr Neuser suggested that “a broader organisation be set up to gather ideas of these start-ups and look for partners from the EU for investment.
“I know that there are lot of people from the EU, who want to invest in Africa, but only a few countries have good governance systems, trust and an incorruptible administration so once there is a bigger organisation, we can build investor confidence,” he observed.
BY ABIGAIL ANNOH
