LET'S DEVELOP INTEREST IN DEMOCRATIC DISPENSATION (PAGE 13, MAY 26, 2010)

THE Western Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Mr Kusi Aboraah, has called on Ghanaians to develop a sustained interest in the country’s democratic dispensation.
This he said would enable Ghanaians to become active participants in the country’s constitutional democracy as it strived to attain a higher level in the rating of good governance.
He said attaining good governance could not be realised without participation as it was a very important characteristic and a key requirement of good governance.
Mr Aboraah made the call at the regional launch of the 10th annual Constitution Week of the commission in Sekondi, which was on the theme: “Enhancing constitutionalism through effective participation for good governance”.
He said that effective citizens participation was a major ingredient of constitutionalism in the country and a key cornerstone of good governance, adding “Lack of effective participation is the primary problem of social inequalities”.
“Citizens must therefore participate in community meetings, write to their elected representatives, follow the news associated with politics, vote during elections and tell unit committee and assembly members as well as parliamentarians the effects of their decisions on local and national development,” he said.
Mr Aboraah explained that in the context of good governance, participation was focused on the empowerment of citizens, particularly women, children, the aged and the physically challenged.
“It occurs at various levels; the grassroots, through local and civic institutions; at the regional and national levels, through flexible and decentralised form of government and also in the private sector”, he explained.
He said the acceptance of the 1992 Fourth Republican Constitution restored Ghana’s constitutional rule after a long period of political unrest.
The constitution, he said, had witnessed five successful general elections and so far the best of all the republican constitutions that the nation had witnessed.
“It is in recognition of this great achievement and the need to avoid recurrence of the events that characterised Ghana’s unfortunate past that the NCCE had been developing various strategies aimed at getting all Ghanaians to understand the need to ensure the survival of this Constitution by observing its contents.” he stated.