News:
December 9, 2025
Madam Laadi Ayii Ayamba, the only female member on the Ghanaian delegation to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament has encouraged the Community Parliament to adopt the observer status in the August House.
Madam Ayamba, the Third Vice President of ECOWAS Female Parliamentarians Association (ECOFEPA) believes this move will go a long way to rather empower colleagues, especially women and most importantly, her colleague who is in the House at the cost of Ghana’s Parliament.
“I do not see why it should be a problem; rather Nigeria should be the first to add to their list for us to get more women”.
Ghana in recomposing its delegation to the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) Parliament, after its December 7, 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections, introduced an observer to the list in the person of Millicent Amankwah Yeboah.
And when on Monday, December 8, 2025, the country was presenting its country report, it came up that the observer status is alien to the Community Parliament.
But responding to questions on the issue, Laadi Ayii Ayamba defended Ghana’s position by pointing out that there is nothing within the protocol of the parliament preventing any member state from brining in an observer to the Parliament.
“As long as you can take care of that person; (that is the country bringing the observer), and our observer is someone who is a representative in the parliament of Ghana. It is a good idea that all member states should emulate from”, she affirmed.
Addressing issues on persons with disabilities in Ghana’s report, Madam Ayamba noted that Ghana has passed a law, Act 715 where in every district assembly three percent of Assembly funds go to persons who are physically challenged.
Another good development is that the John Dramani Mahama led government has made it easy for person who are physically challenged to enter tertiary institutions free without struggle and it has been made easy for them to access public space.
On the issue of corruption, she clarified that things should not be mixed up, stating that since the new government won power, they have been doing their best to ensure that corruption is not attractive, hence the huge bail terms; and no journalists have been detained on corruption allegation and were slapped with huge bail terms as being portrayed by some colleagues.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com