Parliament criticised over delay to spouses’ property law

A senior parliamentary official has branded the failure to pass Ghana’s long-awaited Property Rights of Spouses Bill as a stain on the legislature’s record.

Deputy Clerk of Parliament Camillo Pwamang said many citizens feel let down by the House after years of promises to clarify how marital property should be shared when a marriage ends or a spouse dies.

Addressing a forum on gender-responsive lawmaking, he described the stalled bill as “one of the biggest blots” on Parliament and expressed hope that the current chamber would finally approve it, despite the political sensitivities around the issue.

The bill, now re-introduced as a private member’s bill by two MPs, is designed to set out clear, uniform rules for dividing assets between spouses, and to offer greater legal certainty to families going through divorce or bereavement.

Mr Pwamang also raised alarms over the slow pace of change in women’s representation in the House. He noted that expectations for a sizeable increase in the number of female MPs in the incoming Ninth Parliament had not materialised, with the figure edging up only from 40 to 41.

He drew a contrast between elected positions and the Parliamentary Service, where women occupy a larger share of senior management posts, suggesting that the real challenge lies in getting more women elected rather than in administrative appointments.

The Deputy Clerk argued that passing gender-responsive laws and tightening parliamentary procedures are critical to building more inclusive governance. He said recent initiatives such as Parliament TV and citizen platforms like “Citizens’ View” were part of efforts to bring the public into the legislative process and ensure gender perspectives are better reflected in future laws.