The visit was aimed at exploring ways the organisations could collaborate for greater impacts across the country.

Speaking during the visit on Friday, Chairperson of the NCCE, Kathleen Addy stressed the criticality of the commission’s work this year, particularly in engaging citizens.

She further touted Citi FM/Citi TV as credible organisations which have over the years helped the commission’s work and could continue to do this, especially in this election year.

Ms Addy stressed that the platforms were powerful, for which reason collaborating with them could lead to the attainment of its set goals and targets.

“As part of relationship building and partnership building, the NCCE is paying a courtesy call on a longstanding and beloved partner Citi FM/Citi TV, and we are here today to introduce ourselves again and also to explore how to deepen partnerships, how to deepen our collaborations, particularly in this election year when we know
that there is so much work to do, there is a lot that we need to get citizens of Ghana to understand.”

“Citi is one of the most credible media houses in the country today, and we feel privileged for this opportunity to partner with them. The platform is strong, is powerful. It goes everywhere, and we are looking forward to mutually beneficial collaborations that will bring basically how to be a good citizenship home to the ordinary Ghanaian,” she stated.

The NCCE Chairperson said the commission was considering parliamentary debates, presidential debates, youth activist programmes, Inter Party Dialogue Committees (IPDCs) among other things for this year.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Citi FM/ Citi TV, Samuel Attah-Mensah thanked NCCE for the visit and said that the collaboration would help educate Ghanaians on the mandate of the NCCE and bring them up to speed on the things they are to know as citizens ahead of the polls.

“Collaboration will help channel a lot of the things we should know as a nation. People are not hearing enough,” he stated.

Bernard Avle, General Manager of Citi FM/Citi TV welcomed the invitation for partnership, admitting that this year was a crucial one because of the polls.

He also indicated that the NCCE was a credible constitutional body that was pivotal in the coverage of elections.

He therefore stated that the organisations would look forward to such partnerships to ensure that all and sundry were reached and Ghanaians were well impacted.

“2024 for us as a media house is an important year because apart from the regular functions, elections are very important for us. We see the NCCE as a critical partner in an issue-based coverage of elections. The NCCE has collaborated with us in the past parliamentary debates where we have gone to the grounds to engage the issues in a bottom-top approach, and we are looking forward to collaborating in those areas as well. We also know that the NCCE is a national organisation with over 1700 staff in all the districts. So it will be very helpful for us in our coverage of the districts and constituencies.”

“So we welcome the invitation to partner. We consider you as one of the credible constitutional bodies that has been very consistent…The tenets of journalism teach us that our first loyalty is to citizens, and your first loyalty is to help citizens. So in that sense, we have a mutual meet. So we are thankful to you and your team for visiting, and we are looking forward to ironing out the specific details of the partnerships,” he stated.

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Speaking at the launch, the Chairperson of the NCCE, Josephine Nkrumah, said the report has the necessary information to promote best practices and prevent environmental degradation.

“The research we have here in the report, provides a baseline data for public education anti-corruption, enhance accountability in public institutions, and improved environmental management under an EU funded program known as the anti-corruption, rule of law and public accountability programme,” she said

The research report is expected to support key institutions to increase the ability of citizens and civil society organizations to hold government and duty bearers accountable.

The NCCE used 8,672 respondents in the 216 districts in the country as a baseline for the report.

A former commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Justice Emile Short, highlighted some of the effects corruption has on the country, and how it affects development in critical sectors of the economy.

“I think this is very important in our advocacy, for people to understand the cost of corruption, what it is doing to as a nation, what it is depriving us from; good roads, electricity, monies that can be used to provide decent toilet facilities for the 80% of people who have been reported to not have decent toilet facilities,” he said.

He further said that emphasis should be placed on advocacy of the impact of corruption. This he says will help in fighting the menace every Ghanaian.

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By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to him, politicians over the years have failed to live exemplary lives to motivate Ghanaians to cling to the tenets of patriotism.

[contextly_sidebar id=”92ZBE68dEsHCkeqxcGL8Ldky3ktLxaxj”]“In the fight for independence, Kwame Nkrumah succeeded in whipping up patriotic feeling among the nationalist fighters. How did he do it? He associated himself with ordinary people and demonstrated to them that he was championing their course. But so far, I think the political leaders that have in Ghana demonstrate more to us that they are selfish, self-seeking, self-perpetuating and they are self-aggrandizing cabals. If you have leaders with these features then obviously it become difficult for the people to be inculcated in them the spirit of patriotism,” he said on Eyewitness News on Friday.

Dr. Gyampo made the remark on the back of former President John Mahama’s lamentation that patriotism, which in the past was a dominant trait among Ghanaians has become deficient in recent times.

“…Nationalism and patriotism have become very deficient in Ghana today. Absolutely nobody thinks about the country first; we all think about ourselves first, our families second, our parties third, maybe, our communities fourth and Ghana comes a distant fifth or sixth or even tenth,” he said at a lecture to open the National Democratic Congress’ Institute of Social Democracy at the party’s headquarters in Accra on Friday.

While agreeing with the former President, Dr. Gyampo said another way of boosting nationalism and patriotism in Ghanaians is to equip the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) with the necessary logistics and funds to discharge its role effectively.

“…We know that there is deficient civic education in Ghana. Go to NCCE, they will tell you that they don’t have money. And that has been the refrain since they were formed in 1992. NCCE always does not have money to inculcate into people patriotism and political leaders are also not doing much to help deal with this particular situation because the more they inculcate this spirit of patriotism in people, the more they also enlighten them on civic rights.”

“And the more they become enlightened, the more they become empowered and politicians do not also want an empowered citizenry so they will continue to suffocate the NCCE,” he added.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

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Speaking at a National Dialogue on restoring Ghanaian Identity, he said Ghanaians had lost their identifiable values which needed to be restored.

[contextly_sidebar id=”e4sMr6ndcIDML8kI6UzIfK7mhLqZ07fW”]The forum which was organised by National Commission for Civic Education was on the theme “Restoring the Ghanaian identity, our values, and our passion.”

“We used to have these Ghanaian values and we somewhat lost them and we are trying to restore them… we will agree that to a large extent we have lost a lot of these values and therefore restoration is something we should definitely aim for.”

The Vice President stressed that “having a clear identity and good values are crucial prerequisites for building and developing our country.”

“I dare say no country in the world has achieved greatness without her people developing a clear identity and forging a common purpose based on good value systems,” he added.

Also at the programme, revered educationist and former Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) rector, Professor Stephen Adei, had earlier called for the introduction of civic education in Ghanaian basic schools.

He said this would enable the country to inculcate good values and also instil the culture of national identity in young Ghanaians.

He said it was only through civic education that the country could maintain its values and also create in its citizens a sense of national identity.

Also featuring at the programme were Professor Ama Atta Aidoo, K. B. Asante and Justice V.C.R.A Crabbe.

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By: Anass Seidu/Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonine.com/Ghana

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He was not attacked by armed robbers. He was lynched! He met his untimely death in the hands of a group of people at Dankyira Boase who appropriated to themselves the powers of the law enforcement agencies and the judiciary.

They tried him in the very court of their charged minds, passed their own judgment on him, and that settled it for them.

It is called mob justice! The extrajudicial action, commonly called lynching, has been one of man’s lowest level of reasoning across societies the world over. When carried out, you can picture a human group that stands at par with that carnivore in the forest that we hear of and dread.

In the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries in the United States, lynching was a lucrative venture for marauding White supremacists who executed instant justice on helpless Blacks. What qualified a Black to be lynched was a simple suspicion that a Black is a criminal.

Even Black right activists, both Whites and Blacks, were not spared. What is clear is lynching has been a tool used by its practitioners to deal decisively with those they perceive evil and unwanted.

Here in Ghana, our history and our contemporary times have not been spared of the gruesome act. Some have been lynched in this country at places where residents deemed them strangers walking around, suspecting them of the usual chorus: ‘acting strangely’, and a code signalled. What strange acts are is something yet to be defined.

Others have been lynched in this country because they were thought of as witches. Also in this case, the parameters in determining who a witch is has not been properly laid out yet.

Very commonly in our Ghanaian societies, when locals grab a suspected robber, the probability that the robber will be lynched is high. If luck embraces him or her on a day, the robber may only have severe beating without dying before the police take over.

In my life, I have come across a young man who had both palms nailed on a coconut tree in an ancient Roman crucifixion style for allegedly stealing someone’s coconut. He struggled with the pain for a while and died.

The question has been what makes people engage in mob justice. Mind you, the perpetrators are both males and females.

Several reports and expert analysis have attributed the heartless acts to people’s lack of trust in our security agencies and our justice systems. People will say they do not understand why a robber or a suspected criminal arrested in the act should be allowed to walk freely on the streets.

They feel that our justice system has not been dealing with criminals in the way they think they must be dealt with. Despite the fact that our police and courts have their own flaws, what these people fail to realise is a person is not guilty until proven so by a court of competent jurisdiction.

We must also admit that, as a society, we have failed badly to educate the people. It is worrying to think of what practically an institution like the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) is doing in the form of public education to let citizens understand some basic laws as well as rights and responsibilities.

We live in a country of religion: divided into a majority Christian, followed by Muslims, traditionalists and others. The basic thing in religion is to make its adherents live lives worthy of attracting the favour of the being worshipped. And that will mean living morally upright lives.

However, after trooping into churches, mosques, shrines and others, we still remain detached from basic moral standards. A moral person does not only occupy himself with basic good and bad deeds, but also loves his neighbour as himself. By extension, I cannot look at my fellow human being and hit his skull with a piece of brick or stone. That makes me descend to the level of animals in a jungle.  This makes us ask: “What are people preached to?”

What practical training and knowledge is our educational curriculum equipping its consumers with? Our textbooks are pregnant with civic theories that are only meant to be memorised and later poured on sheets of paper for marks to get graded.

Our educational system has failed to churn out products that have respect for our laws and civic responsibilities. Thus, it is not strange to find a person with degrees and in suit openly or secretly defending or offering support in the perpetuation of mob justice.

It is time our police showed the citizenry their unflinching resolve to deal with these self-styled executioners walking on the streets of Ghana in line with the laws of the land. Again, the prosecutors of crime and the courts should expedite criminal cases before them since dragging them courts unnecessary public upheavals.

Until citizens respect the laws, respect the dignity of their fellow human beings irrespective of wherever they come from, their profession, their differences; until our security forces stand up to this menace and until our justice system gains appreciable trust from the people, the lynching of the late Captain Maxwell Mahama may not be the last in Ghana

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By: Joseph Ackon-Mensah (Email: [email protected])

The post Mob justice: Will Captain Mahama be the last? [Article] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The celebration, which takes place in the month of May, but launched every 28th April, aims to among other things educate the general public on the country’s constitution, and the rights and responsibilities that accompanies one’s status as a citizen.

[contextly_sidebar id=”drMfGeP0esj83nW1BpjOpA9f0YSmmSF6″]Addressing the media at the event, themed “Restoring the Ghanaian identity: Our values, Our passion, the Chairperson of NCCE, Josephine Nkrumah, said it was time the commission evaluates its success and impacts with regards to national issues.

“As a Commission, the commemoration of the Constitution goes beyond public engagements. Constitution Week offers us an ideal opportunity to transcend the abstract and engage beyond intellect to a more personal experience of our constitution. If we fail in our mandate to create and maintain awareness in a consistent and sustained manner, we risk having a citizenry that is constitutionally illiterate. It is therefore time to evaluate the impact of our programmes in relation to current and emerging national issues, and also for formulation of appropriate strategies to reinforce a collective sense of civic responsibility, nation building and democratic governance.”

According to the chairperson, the week-long celebration will also be used to educate students across the country through an e-constitution quiz competition.

“Over the years, we have had different ways of celebrating the week, we have even adopted another angle of the celebration where we now have citizenship week, where we go to the basic schools and speak to the children about the constitution and engage the children and teach them the duties of a citizen. This year, we have targeted about ten thousand schools and we do this with volunteers all across the country.”

The Commission also used the launch to appeal for support and funding from the public and corporate organizations.

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By: Felicia Osei/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The commission noted in a statement that, such a step would “avoid any further and future undemocratic activities from such groups.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”bbfHNjcloq3MWqXnVc3am4Dhrl8Bm7Oi”]Their charge to the political parties follows the tensions initiated by the NPP-affiliated Delta Force group in the Ashanti Region capital, Kumasi.

The actions of the group started with an assault of the Regional Security Coordinator at his office, and another attack at a Circuit Court leading to escape of some of its members who were standing trial in court.

That said, the NCCE also cautioned Ghanaians that “the discourse of activities of vigilantism should not be politicized, but should be addressed dispassionately with the nation’s interest and security at heart.”

The statement from the NCCE also welcomed the “prompt condemnation and reaction from relevant bodies, institutions and peace-loving Ghanaians” to the troubles sparked by these groups.

It also urged the Ghana Police Service as a matter of urgency “hasten investigations into the matter, apprehend and prosecute perpetrators in accordance with the law without fear or favour.”

Find below the full statement

The National Commission for Civic Education (‘NCCE’ or ‘the Commission’) has noted with grave concern recent lawless activities of vigilante groups. The alleged forceful removal of the Regional Security Advisor from office and the attack by the ‘Delta Force’ on the Circuit Court, the judicial Arm of Government, in the Ashanti Region last week is a breach of the principle of the Rule of Law. Certainly, these acts do not augur well for our quest to consolidating Ghana’s democracy and Rule of Law as enshrined in the Preamble of the 1992 Fourth Republican Constitution.

The Commission in line with its mandate of championing education and sensitisation on safeguarding Rule of Law towards strengthening the country’s democracy condemns the recent activities of vigilante groups in no uncertain terms.

The NCCE expresses alarm about the springing up of vigilante groups in the country which threatens the breakdown of law, order, peace and security.  The Commission calls on all political parties particularly NPP and NDC to ban and dissolve any existing vigilante groups within their respective parties to avoid any further and future mobocratic activities from such groups.

The NCCE cautions all Ghanaians that the discourse of activities of vigilantism should not be politicised but should be addressed dispassionately with the nation’s interest and security at heart.

The NCCE welcomes the prompt condemnation and reaction from relevant bodies, institutions and peace loving Ghanaians. The Commission urges the Ghana Police Service as a matter of urgency to hasten investigations into the matter, apprehend and prosecute perpetrators in accordance with the law without fear or favour.

The Commission counts on all Ghanaians particularly the youth to rise up and say ‘No To Vigilantism’, remain calm and trust that authorities mandated to ensure peace and security will do their work.  The Commission prevails on all well-meaning Ghanaians to denounce these acts of lawlessness.  Religious bodies are urged to use their platforms to preach against vigilante groups.

As a people, we all must strive to protect our young democracy; remember to defend our nation by becoming responsible citizens rather than engaging in acts that can only lead us into anarchy.  Let us stand up for Ghana and not vigilantism.

God continue to bless our Homeland Ghana, and Make our Nation Great and Strong.

Signed

Joyce Afutu (Mrs.)

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Kathleen Addy comes to the new position with a vast experience in communications and development sectors.

She has worked with various Civil Society Organizations in Ghana, including the Center For Policy analysis CEPA, where Ms Addy worked as a research and Communications Officer.

She also worked at the Center for Democratic Development CDD, as the Afro barometer Communications Manager with oversight of seven African Countries.

Prior to this appointment, Ms. Addy worked as a communication and development consultant.

She has a degree in Psychology and Master’s degree in communications from the University of Ghana School of Communications Studies.

The National Commission for Civic Education is an independent, non-partisan governance institution, set up under Article 231 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.

The Commission works to promote and sustain democracy and inculcate in the Ghanaian citizenry, the awareness of their rights and obligations, through civic education.

The Commission was established in 1993 under the National Commission for Civic Education Act, 1993 (Act 452). Over the years, the Commission has not lived up to expectation largely due to inadequate funding from government.
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By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to the President, Nana Addo rather chose to espouse his plans to the electorates on a private radio station, Peace FM instead of debating him and other presidential candidates.

[contextly_sidebar id=”dQWEE3UM6gS1M2jEsi9Il1uaDK3bSNP3″]Nana Addo on Friday explained that he refused to show up at the debate because he felt both the NCCE and the state media, the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), which aired the programme are biased.

“The state agencies that conducted these debates are not agents that have been particularly fair to some of us in opposition. GBC acts like a propaganda wing of the ruling party, so much also the NCCE. I do not see why in those circumstances I will say I am being given the fair crack of the whip and therefore come before such an audience,” Nana Addo told Citi News’ Umaru Sanda.

But speaking at a night rally organized by the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) at Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region, the President, in a rebuttal, rubbished Nana Addo’s claim, describing his decision as disrespectful to Ghanaians.

“…You can have your convictions, you can have your statistics but the opportunity to prove them is when you sit with your peers. There are seven of us who have registered with the Electoral Commission to stand for President. They say come and sit down and tell Ghanaians what you want to do for them. That one too you won’t come, it is an utmost disrespect to the Ghanaian electorate and then all you say is GBC is a propaganda whatever.”

He wondered why Nana Addo equally failed to attend a debate organized by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) if he was indeed convinced that the GBC and the NCCE would not organise a fair debate.

“If GBC is a propaganda whatever , okay IEA too did a debate, why didn’t you go to the IEA one. If GBC is a propaganda at least you should have gone for the IEA one, that one too you run away.”

The President alleged that the NPP in a bid to “justify” Nana Addo’s decision also “asked all their MPs too not to appear for the parliamentary one that NCCE was doing.”

“What is this?… NCCE is saying here is a platform, come and tell the people what to do too he won’t go and the next day you come and you are debating Kwame Sefa Kayi. Kwame Sefa Kayi is not standing for President. You go and sit down alone and speak slangs…Come and speak the slangs at the debate, that’s where Ghanaians are expecting it,” he added.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The presidential candidates of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), People’s National Convention (PNC), Convention People’s Party (CPP), the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and an independent candidate, Joseph Osei Yeboah, were present at the debate with the exception of Nana Addo.

Speaking to Citi News’ Umaru Sanda Amadu in an interview at his residence, the three-time NPP Flagbearer explained that, he boycotted the debate because he felt both the NCCE and the state media, the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), which aired the programme are biased.

“The state agencies that conducted these debates are not agents that have been particularly fair to some of us in opposition. GBC acts like a propaganda wing of the ruling party, so much also the NCCE. I do not see why in those circumstances I will say I am being given the fair crack of the whip and therefore come before such an audience.”

He believes state institutions including the GBC and the NCCE, should be allowed to operate effectively without government’s interference.

“For me; GBC is a public broadcaster and should conduct itself as such. I do not like the idea of state owned media. What we should have are public media which operate as such, and therefore they operate under a charter which guarantees their independence and allows them to be able to comment objectively on what is going in the society at any given time, and not necessarily act as propaganda vehicles for the party of the day.”

“I will not like to take over and just apply the same principle that now GBC will be churning out pro NPP information to the people, no. I think we should get ourselves into a situation whereby GBC as a public broadcaster will make its own determination on what the public interest requires in terms of information and put it out in that way with objectivity and balance. That will be what I will urge. It is important that we have institutions that will work for the people of Ghana.”

Asked whether he will see the NCCE in the same light as he does presently should he become President, Nana Addo said : “ I will look at them with a different eye.”

Debate was needless

He also indicated that a debate with the other political parties will be needless since the various political parties had already outlined their plans on their respective campaigns.

“What will I be afraid of facing the four? The facts are that, between him and I, does it require our personal interaction? The facts that have been put out there were facts that have been out there on the campaign.”

He further condemned what he believes is President Mahama’s decision to “pick and choose which platform to appear on.”

Proffering solutions to tackle these challenges, Nana Addo suggested the formulation of models that will guide the conduct of these debates in agreed state institutions, just like other parts of the world to promote fairness.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

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