Democracy cannot flourish without citizens support

Winneba(C/R), Jan, GNA - Mr Justice Kwame Appoh, a senior Librarian at the University of Education, Winneba on Tuesday stated that democracy in Ghana can not flourish without the active support of its citizens. Mr Appoh said that, in order to sustain the tree of democracy in Ghana and nurture it to blossom, Ghanaians must cultivate a new citizenry attitude that is imbued with civic knowledge and responsibility.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Winneba, Mr Appoh said that democracy requires vibrant crop of citizens who can dutifully, firmly and respectfully hold their leaders to the stringent standards of public accountability, transparency and performance to which leaders must necessarily pledge themselves.

He said, in order to cultivate this crop of citizens, they must be empowered with the necessary skills and tools to efficiently participate in the important national duty of ensuring compliance with the highest standards of human rights and democratic behaviours. Mr Appoh emphasized the active involvement of the media to play its watchdog role to help champion the course of effective participation of citizens to exercise their democratic rights.

He called on various political parties, human rights and civic educators to raise the standards of electoral education in the country. Mr Appoh also appealed to civic educators to form a broad base and dynamic coalition of civic educators, who would teach and exemplify civility and basic courtesy in the nation.

He therefore, called on civic educators to always involve the media as a powerful social force in the dissemination of information for effective citizenship.