Bawku (UE), June 5, GNA - The Bawku office of the National Commissio= n for Civic Education (NCCE) has sensitized security agencies in Bawku on their role and responsibilities in democratic governance. The participants were taken through the principles of democratic governance, the importance of relating effectively with the public and the role of the sub-structures of local government, which include the sub-metro= , town, zonal, area councils and the unit committees.

This was at a forum organized by the NCCE in Bawku at the weekend to mark the 11th annual constitutional week celebration on the theme: 93The state of Ghana's democracy in recent times".

Mr Gomez Adongo, Bawku Municipal NCCE Director, said the aim of the forum was to assess the role of the country's security services in the maintenance of law and order for good governance.

Mr Adongo stated that it was gratifying for citizens to reflect soberly on the country's democratization process and to assess the democratic gains and shortcomings.

He called on the national security to annually conduct such forums for personnel since it would create sustained awareness of the existence an= d the tenet of the 1992 constitution of Ghana. He mentioned that in democratic governance, rulers were held accountable for their actions and inactions.

Also, Mr Adongo said, government and other duty bearers were put on their toes to profess probity, transparency and accountability. Superintendent Samuel Kweku Allordey, Bawku Municipal Police Commander, mentioned that a major challenge facing the security agencies in the discharge of their legitimate duties was the interference by political authorities and appealed to politicians to allow security agencies to operate independently. He indicated that the security services owed it a duty to serve the government of the day.