Ahead of the upcoming District-level and Unit Committee elections, the chairperson of the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), Ms Kathleen Addy, has urged the citizenry to take a keen interest and participate in the upcoming district assembly and unit committee elections as a civic responsibility.
That, she said, was important as the commission had observed a low interest among the citizenry to actively participate in the elections.
Ms Addydisclosed this at a press conference organised by the NCCE at its headquarters in Accra yesterday.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare, was expected to join the press conference but could not turn up as the Ghana Police Service was called to Parliament for a budget hearing at the last minute.
“We have had a problem with low voter turn-out when it comes to district level elections. We’ve been hovering for the past few elections cycles around 30 per cent turn out, and this is unacceptable,” Ms Addy said.
According to Ms Addy the active participation of the citizenry in the district assembly and unit committee elections was crucial to the development of a strong local government system and the overall democratic governance of the country.
“As citizens, we are constantly looking to find upstanding tax paying people we have elected accountable, and that is the reason why you have so many people holding Members of Parliament (MPs) accountable. But these MPs are not development agencies. They are legislators and the development agents are the local assemblies led by the head of the local assembly,” Ms Addy said.
“So it will get to a point where we are electing Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), which will help in the turn out that we see at district level elections. But for the meantime before we get there, we are still electing assembly and unit committee members who are living in the communities with us. We have to hold them accountable and have to let them work,” Ms Addy added.
As a way of intensifying awareness creation, the NCCE, Ms Addy said had employed various strategies including media engagements, playing of jingles on media houses across the country, and engagements with the citizenry at the markets, lorry parks, and places of worship.
Furthermore, she urged the citizenry to hold the individuals elected as district assembly and unit committee members accountable, as the district assemblies served as development agencies in the districts and communities.
Ms Addy also called on the media to contribute to the awareness creation about the elections as it was a major partner of the commission
BY BENJAMIN
ARCTON-TETTEY
