NCCE calls for re-demarcation of Wa East and Nadowli Districts
The Upper West Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) Mr Ben Banye, has said that the structures of some Assemblies in the region are not in consonance with the participation of local governance.
Mr Banye who made the observation at a staff durbar on Saturday at Wa, called for the re-demarcation of the Wa East and Nadowli Districts to enable all their citizens to participate effectively in local governance.
He said communities such as Polee, Tanina and Chaase among others were about 80 miles away from Funsi, the district capital of Wa East, stating that people from such communities hardly attended functions concerning their development.
The durbar brought all the staff of the Commission in the region together to enable them to identify hidden potentials and sharpen them for greater productivity in the days ahead.
The durbar was also intended to honour Mr. Larry Bimi, Chairman of the Commission, who in spite of his numerous challenges brought the Commission thus far.
Mr Banye said the staff strength of the Commission in the region was 83 with 16 vacancies yet to be filled, and appealed to the Authorities to fill those vacancies to boost the strength of the Commission to help carry out its mandate to the people of the region.
He mentioned office accommodation and transportation as some of the major challenges confronting NCCE staff in the region.
Mr Larry Bimi who spoke on the theme, “Harmonizing the Human Resource for Democracy and National Development said the greatest weakness of the NCCE was in the area of its human resource and challenged the staff to take advantage of the distance learning programmes offered by the Universities to upgrade themselves.
He said democracy which talked about equality, sovereign will and the rule of law was like a mango tree which if properly cultivated could bear fruits for all to enjoy.
The NCCE Chairman said the Commission had therefore been created to internalize the concept of the sovereign will into the people for them to respect the rule of law no matter their status in the society.
Mr Bimi tasked the NCCE staff as civic educators to learn the preamble and the directive principles of state policy as the two most important things enshrined in the constitution to enable them to educate the public to understand and hold their leaders accountable.
He stated that there was no correlation between what the political parties did as in their manifestoes and the directive principles of state policy, hence the need to educate the public to rise up and hold political parties accountable to their manifestoes.
The NCCE Chairman said since he came into office he had been able to change the erroneous perception that staff of the NCCE were members of the National Democratic Congress, by making sure that the NCCE remained neutral and non-partisan in all its activities.
He said the NCCE had a vision of building the capacity of its staff to be better civic educators in order to educate the public on their civic rights and responsibilities.
Source: GNA