Women are more sensitive to national issues- NCCE director

Women are more sensitive to national issues- NCCE director
The Ghanaian Times; Wednesday, May 5th, 2010; (Regional Diary)
Samuel Opare Lartey

Ghana would have been like heaven if many women had given themselves to decision making and participated fully in the decentralisation programme of the nation.

This is because women are very sensitive and difficult to convince to do things which would go against them in the future.

The Eastern Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Mr. Eric Bortey, said at the launch of the 10th Annual Eastern Regional Constitutional Week at Koforidua. It had the theme, “Enhancing constitutionalism through effective citizen participation for good governance.”

Giving an example of the few women who are now in high positions in the country, he asked, “Who has heard anything wrong with any of them?” “Which of them has been mentioned as causing financial loss to the state?” he added.

He said that there had been many women who had and are now occupying strategic positions in the country since the inception of the 1992 constitution without any problems.

Mr. Bortey encouraged women to forget about existing prejudices, any fears and believe that they had the support, abilities to actively participate in the governance of the nation.

Tracing the history of the constitution from the first republic, he said, most of the citizenry do not know the constitution and they supported a particular candidate and voted for him or her.

The constitution is about the welfare of the citizenry, therefore, they should always use the power and enthusiasm in supporting their candidates to demand their rights for good roads, shelter, health, education and water among others. Mr. Bortey explained.

He urged Ghanaians to study the constitution as a document which sets the framework within which laws, regulations and rules are made to govern the private and public lives of citizens. Therefore, Mr. Bortey appealed to Ghanaians to make every effort to know the contents of the constitution to enable them to know, exercise their basic rights and perform their civic responsibilities.

The Acting Eastern Regional Director of CHRAJ, Mr. Dominic C. Hammond, who launched the programme, spoke on, “Can our present constitutional framework accelerate the growth and sustenance of democracy and good governance in Ghana?”

He said the 1992 Constitution is the longest existing constitution the country had ever had and has revealed that the spirit of liberty, oneness, rule of law and sovereignty resides with the people.

He said Ghana had had a decade of peaceful and acceptable constitutional rule and had change political leaders through the ballot box in a free and fair manner. “Ghana’s level of democracy and good governance has made her a star among other African countries,” he said.

Mr. Hammond said that the 1992 Constitution had guaranteed the independence of the, Electoral Commission, mandated NCCE to conducted civic education and CHRAJ to promote, protect and enforce fundamental human rights and freedom and administrative justice for all persons in Ghana.

He appealed for resources for institutions to function effectively because their presence had placed Ghana in the lead of other African countries in terms of practicing democracy and good governance.

The programme was chaired by Okotwasuo Kantamto Oworae II, vice president of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs.