Josephine Nkrumah
In the next few months, the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) will commence work towards triggering a national conversation on constitutional reforms in the country.
Speaking to the media yesterday, the Chairperson of the NCCE, Mrs. Josephine Nkrumah said the commission welcomes such reforms in as much as that is what the people want.
People should be allowed to state their views on the reforms and “in the next few months the commission will work on a national conversation to allow for the collation of the views of the people.”
The voices must be heard on the subject and in this direction she called for the support of the media to make the exercise successful.
She also announced the task of consultation to be undertaken by the commission towards the triggering of the constitutional reforms conversation.
“We should listen to the people to determine where we should go in this regard,” she said.
The Chairperson described last year as an excellent one for the commission considering the grounds it covered, especially in the area of national security.
The shared responsibility of national security issues, according to her, was something which the commission tackled successfully.
The responsibilities of individuals towards national security is something lost on many, a deficiency which the commission succeeded in imparting to the people.
The National Security Ministry, she acknowledged, supported the commission in this direction.
According to her, the commission was able to educate many citizens, especially those in the Northern Regions about the dangers of violent extremism. This way, she explained, the security agencies would be given the necessary support they require to discharge their mandate.
The commission, according to her, received funding from the European Union to fund its work on violent extremism. This was against the backdrop of the secessionist activities in some parts of the Volta Region last year.
The National Security Strategy document, she said, forms the basis of the commission’s work in the area of capacity building.
Still narrating the successes of the commission in the previous year, she said “we were able to bring National Security vis a vis national cohesion in sharp focus.
“Last year was an interesting year,” she said, adding the commission is dealing with awareness creation about the COVID-19 vaccination.
This year, the commission’s focus lies in its theme: “Sustaining Our Democracy: Ghanaian Values In Practice.”
The traditional values of patriotism, respect, discipline, hard work, punctuality, truth and integrity will impact positively when applied by all and sundry. It is in the light of this reality that the commission will this year focus its direction on the foregone’ she told the media.
“We need a sustained national conversation on our values,” she demanded, and added “let us go back to basics.”
The demographics of the country, she said, demand that the commission recalibrate its operation so it can derive the appropriate dividend.
Mrs. Nkrumah called for a proper curriculum initiative targeting the youth to achieve a successful civic education of the youth.
On the financial handicaps which bedeviled the commission over the years, she said “the finances of the commission have improved relatively to previous years. Our budget this year is better than last year’s. We thank the government for that.”
By A.R. Gomda