Hon. Veronica Kadie Sesay Showcases Sierra Leone’s strides in Promoting Gender Uniformity

By Princetta Willams Information Attaché SLHC Accra, Ghana

The Deputy Chief whip 1 and Member of Parliament in Moyamba District, Honourable Veronica Kadie Sesay has during the opening ceremony of the 66th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference shared Sierra Leone’s strides in promoting gender uniformity in parliament.

During a panel discussion on the topic Gender quotas: The Means to an end, Honourable Sesay said Sierra Leone under the Leadership of President Julius Maada Bio and the Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Dr.  Abass Bundu has taken great measures in promoting gender diversity and impartial representation.

According to her, being one of the longest-serving Members of Parliament, the current Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) Government remains dedicated to addressing gender imbalance in politics, thus creating an enabling environment for women with an increase of 15% female representation in the legislative arm during the Sixth Parliament as compared to the previous term.

With President Julius Maada Bio having signed into law the Gender Equity and Women’s Empowerment Act, several conditions favourable to women wanting to become Members of Parliament were provided, giving them a fair opportunity and making it a landmark achievement.

This law reserves a minimum of 30% of elective women.

She commended the Government for providing the political will to give women the opportunity and space to thrive even in politics, with Sierra Leone’s Female Parliamentary Caucus supporting them them all through.

Citing some of the strategies used in achieving such, Honourable Veronica Sesay said the Proportional Representation (PR) System was used in the June 2023 elections.

The PR system is one in which voters only vote for a political party, and not for individual Candidates on the Party’s list.

She informed colleague members of the Commonwealth Parliament, members of the diplomatic core and guests that the journey towards gender equality in politics requires dedication, consistent consultation, funding and legislative support while concluding by saying Sierra Leone’s door is open to help other countries in achieving such.

The recent elections in Sierra Leone demonstrated the positive impact of initiatives by the president, women in different spheres and partners, as women lawmakers now hold 30.4 % seats in the Sierra Leone Parliament and this the Honourable said is a substantial improvement from the 14.5% in previous elections.

Sierra Leone’s delegation to the 66th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference was led by the Speaker of Parliament, Hon Dr. Abass Bundu with High Commissioner Francess Virginia Anderson in attendance.

Delivering his keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 66th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference held at the Accra International Conference Centre, President Akufo-Addo said it is always good to be amid Parliamentarians whom he described as key people when it comes to governance.

The conference he said is held at a time when the world is confronted with grave issues including environmental, financial and security problems, which are having negative effects especially on developing countries.

“Surmounting these challenges requires collective and concerted efforts,” he added.

He reminded the Honourable Members of how the Commonwealth chapter binds the commonwealth together as it directs the access of member states through shared values and principles while noting that the chapter also projects the values of good governance, the rule of law, protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms as well as protection of the environment.

The President said as Members of Parliament, they have the onus and responsibilities to translate the principles of the Commonwealth into tangible and measurable outcomes to guarantee human security.

He said such a conference presents a unique opportunity to reflect on the progress made in upholding the values or principles projected in the Commonwealth Charter since its induction a decade ago.

Members of parliament of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association must be reminded that part of the legitimacy of Democracy lies in the capacity to produce tangible developmental outcomes such as good health care, quality education, affordable housing and to explore development.

The opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Parliamentary brought together over 500 members of Parliament and or legislature from commonwealth member states.