Minister Gives Update On Affirmative Action And 2 Other Bills

The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Hon Lariba Zuweira Abudu, has provided updates on three pending social bills in the country.

The bills include the Affirmative Action Bill, Age Bill and Social Workers Bill.

At press conference on Sunday, June 4, the Minister said all these are outstanding bills the government is working at and “most of them like the Affirmative Action Bill has gone to Cabinet, it has been reviewed and we are finalizing it for cabinet approval then submission to cabinet.

The Bill was legislated in 1960 and allowed ten women to represent the regions of the country in the then legislature to ensure women are adequately represented in key decision-making spaces .

Age Bill
“The Age Bill is at the AG level and very soon they will also finanlize then we will table it for onward submission to Parliament,” the Minister said.

This bill was introduced in 2018 to integrate the rights and needs of older persons into national policies with focus on the older person and development; advancing health and well-being into old age; and ensuring and enabling environment for the elderly.

It is meant to right the wrongs and misconceptions against the aged.

Social Workers Bill
The Social Workers bill is at the draft level, she said.

When passed, she said, it will train social workers professionally to be able to take care of the vulnerable in society especially the aged and children.