WOMEN URGED TO UPGRADE THEMSELVES (PAGE 11, DEC 4, 2010)

THE Deputy Controller (Finance and Administration) of the Accountant General’s Department, Ms Grace Adzroe, has advised women to upgrade themselves academically to empower them to take up positions at all levels of development.
Ms Adzroe, who is a Chartered Accountant, noted that women are partners in development “and it behoves us to make the strides that will justify our ability to perform equally as our male counterparts”.
Speaking at the 10th anniversary celebration of the Ashanti Regional branch of Controller and Accountant General Department Ladies Association (TRELAS) in Kumasi, Ms Adzroe, said women must project themselves decently in order to build on the respect they command.
It was on the theme, “The role of the woman accountant in nation building”.
She condemned what she described as the practice where women working in public offices dress “provocatively” to work and said the situation, which was becoming prevalent in recent times, tended to demean womanhood and therefore, urged female workers to ensure that they dress decently to their workplaces.
She said she was looking up for increased women representation on the management team of the department, since there was only one woman on the team.
“Sadly, out of the 135 qualified accountants in the department, only 19 are women,” she added, but expressed delight that more women in the department were currently undertaking various courses in tertiary institutions to upgrade themselves.
She called for integrity on the part of the women in the performance of their work, saying “We should not attempt to misappropriate state money under any circumstances”.
“Let’s undertake prudent financial management by ensuring that funds kept in our custody are safe and used for the purposes for which they are given to us,” she stressed.
The Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister, Ms Anima Wilson, who was the guest of honour, stated that the government’s decision to empower women to take up important positions in national development was not a fluke.
The signs, she noted, were beginning to show in all spheres of national life and indicated that a lot more would be done by the government to bring the best out of the Ghanaian woman.
Ms Wilson, therefore, challenged women to take up the challenge and let their presence be felt in the socio-economic development of the country.
She noted that the contribution of women to national development had been phenomenal but stressed that more could be done when women were given the needed support.
“That was why the Mills government had placed the empowerment of women at the centre of events”, she said.
The deputy regional minister commended Ashanti TRELAS for their achievements over the decade and urged them to continue to initiate programmes and projects that would enhance their development and that of the larger society.
Ms Wilson told the women not to allow their household activities to overshadow their work schedule, adding “In spite of your household activities, you should be punctual at work”.
She also urged them to counsel girls to lead lives that would give them a better future.
The President of Ashanti TRELAS, Mrs Genevieve Bukari, said none of its members had ever been engaged in any financial malfeasance and said the association would continue to preach professional integrity to its members.
She noted that women accountants had a huge role to play in the government’s ‘Better Ghana Agenda’ and must therefore, not fail the nation.