The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in the Savannah region of Ghana is marking the 23rd Annual Constitution Week with series of engagements with security agencies in the region.
The NCCE regional director Issaka Zitor together with his team took the 23rd Annual Constitution Week Celebration to the Ghana Police Service (Savannah Regional and municipal Police staff).
The Annual Constitution Week was instituted in 2001 to commemorate the country’s return to Constitutional Democratic Rule. Most importantly, April 28, 1992 was the day Ghanaian electorates voted favourably to adopt the draft Fourth Republican Constitution which subsequently came into full force on January 7th 1993.
Welcoming the team
DOP Baba, the Savannah regional commander of the Ghana Police Service thanks NCCE for the sensitization and drew the attention of the personnel to constantly study the Constitution and perform their duties professionally to maintain peace before, during, and after the upcoming 2024 general elections and also prevent violent extremism spillover into Ghana.
During the meeting, participants were taking through achievements Ghana chalked since the inception of the Fourth Republic which include; a stable democratic governance, eight (8) free and fair multi-party elections and proliferation of the media that enhance citizens freedom of expression and the rule of law.
However, Issaka Zitor outlined some challenges that serve as a threat to peaceful elections, which include: Regional security threat and the likely spillover of activities of violent extremists, the influence of money in politics, lingering ethnic and religious tensions which could be rekindled by commentaries and utterances of politicians and social media being exploited negatively.
Issaka Zitor said the NCCE believes that the concerns about economic hardship and high cost of living expressed by people across the country are legitimate and should be addressed appropriate authorities.
The NCCE further believes that nation building of every country depends on it’s people. This happens through citizens abiding by the laws of the nation and citizens performing duties required of them by the laws as Article 41 of the 1992 Constitution spells out the duties required of every citizen.
The National Commission for Civic Education operational theme for the year 2024 is: “Together, We can Build Ghana: So get involved”.
He reminded participants that the upcoming general elections is a test case on our level of political tolerance, religious tolerance, and the respect for our ethnic and cultural diversity. And assured that the
NCCE will intensify Civic and voter engagements across Ghana to ensure peace before, during, and after the upcoming general elections.
The NCCE is also calling for the participation of all citizens to achieve these goals. Most importantly, vote buying is undemocratic, fake news and misinformation is a threat to peaceful, free and fair elections. We wish to appeal to the electorates to reject violent politicians. Let us build Ghana together, Ghana is the only country we have, he concluded.
www.padfm.com.gh – Abdulai Zulkaninu
