NCCE urged to intensify education on Constitution

Accra, 25 June, GNA - Mr Kweku Baa Owusu, Executive Director of Governance Africa Foundation (GAF), on Friday urged the National Commissi on for Civic Education (NCCE) to increase education on the knowledge of Ghan a's Constitution to the public.

He said making the Constitution a common document to Ghanaians would ensure effective and meaningful participation in good governance and democracy. Speaking at a symposium to crown the 10th Annual Constitutional Week Celebration in Accra, Mr Owusu said education on the Constitution must ai m at producing informed, knowledge, skilled and active citizenry with the capacity to develop and protect economic, social and political systems fo r the attainment of true democracy. The symposium, organized by the NCCE in collaboration with the GAF, w as under the theme: "Enhancing Constitutionalism through citizen participati on for good governance". Mr Owusu said Article 41 of the Constitution states that civic cultur e requires that citizens develop the capacity to strike a fair balance betw een the enjoyment of rights and freedoms and performance of duties and responsibilities.

He stressed that anything short of that could be chaotic and a threat to the principle and practice of democracy and good governance. "Citizenship education must not only be efficient but transparent, accountable and responsive to the needs of its citizens to help ensure effective citizen's participation", he added. Mr Owusu said GAF believes in the principles of collaboration, partnership and co-operation with organizations, institutions and individuals that shared a common aim of improving upon citizens' civic knowledge, skills and disposition for the attainment of true democracy in

Ghana and Africa as a whole. He also appealed to the NCCE to draw a programme that would consider the constitutional needs of the vulnerable, the marginalised and the voiceles s in the society.

Mrs Lucille Annan, Municipal Director of NCCE said the Commission aim s mainly at educating people on the Constitution and indicated that most of

their programmes were geared towards public education on rights, duties a nd responsibilities of good citizenship, good governance and participation. She said since the introduction of multiparty democracy in 1992, democratic culture had not developed the way it should, because of citize n's apathy towards the performance of their responsibilities. Mr Kojo Tito Voegborlo, NCCE Secretary said, "for every citizen in th e country to understand the provisions in the Constitution, they should be in a position to read and understand what was in it in order to guide individuals, groups and the citizenry to know, protect and defend the constitution". He urged all and sundry to form civic education clubs that would be non-partisan voluntary organization to engage mainly in the study and discussion of the Constitution, which is the fundamental law of the count ry. Mr Voegborlo further said such clubs would help to facilitate the development of Ghana since as a civil society groups, they would encourag e their members to observe the rules and culture of good citizenship.