Ghana lauded for its democratic credentials

Mr Ralf Wittek, Country Representative of Hanns Seidel Foundation, a based German organisation which specializes in political education, has lauded Ghana for the successes it had chalked as far as democracy on the African continent was concerned.

He also lauded the civil society for forming an integral part of Ghana’s public discussions landscape and for helping to educate the citizenry on issues of governance.

Speaking at the 5th edition of ‘Project Citizen Ghana’, a civic education programme organized by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), for first and second cycle institutions in the country, Mr Wittek, however expressed concern about some political decisions which do not reflect national interest.

“It is sad to find out that some political decisions do not always reflect the collective interest of Ghanaians and also most of the youth do not seem to be sufficiently informed about their political rights and how they could influence decisions”, he explained.

He expressed satisfaction for partnering with the NCCE in an effort to engage the youth in identifying and coming out with solutions to issues that are of major concern to the society as a whole.

“By dealing with problems in the community and designing an action plan, the participating students do not only learn about the laws of the nation and public policies, but also the need to take initiative and the responsibility to cause a change”, he added.

Mr. Wittek said so far, over 3,000 students from 147 schools, including two schools for the blind and three schools for the deaf had participated in the ‘Project Citizen Ghana’.

The intent of Project Citizen Ghana (PCG) was to motivate and enable young people to enjoy the rights and accept the responsibilities of citizenship with participants given the free will to express their opinions and acquaint themselves with functions of government agencies.

PCG ensures that students are put in a group and encouraged to corporate with each other as they identify specific issues in their communities which need to be addressed.

Results are displayed in groups, which are presented to the relevant audience, sometimes in the form of competitions.

There were presentations from three schools including Accra Academy, Bolga Girls Senior High School and St Francis Xavier Minor Seminary, Wa.

Accra Academy gave a presentation on the poor sanitary condition at the Agbogbloshie Market, while Bolga Girls spoke on the organisation of expensive funerals in Zaare community, with St Francis speaking on the high incidence of indiscipline on the roads.

All the participating schools were presented with plagues for participating in the programmes.