NCCE asks media to go beyond exposing corrupt politicians

Bolgatanga, July 19, GNA - The National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE,) has challenged media practitioners to go beyond exposing corrupt politicians and focus more on Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).

Mr Peter Mensah, Upper East Regional Director of the Commission, who threw the challenge in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Bolgatanga on Tuesday, said attention should be directed towards Managing Directors and Chief Executives of institutions in the country.

He alleged that there were a lot of corrupt officials in other institutions especially that of the MMDAs, whom media practitioners needed to throw more searchlights on.

Mr Mensah however cautioned media practitioners to take note of the fact that as far as the Constitution enjoined them to expose corrupt officials they must exercise circumspection in handling such situation.

“Politicians such as Members of Parliament also have the constitutional right to own properties such as houses. It should be pointed out that one does not expect politicians to live in a deplorable situation when they leave office,” Mr Mensah stressed.

The Regional Director stated that his outfit had mapped out a lot of strategies including bringing together all political parties in the region to revive the inter-party dialogue which would address petty squabbles among them.

Mr Mensah indicated that his outfit had also been organising peace talks on both the radio and at community durbars and that people were appreciating the need for sustenance of peace.

On negative cultural practices, he noted that the Commission with support from Action Aid had been embarking on sensitization programmes at various platforms and negative cultural practices such Female Genital Mutilation, widowhood rites among others had reduced drastically.

In some parts of the Upper East Region, some chiefs have started including women in the traditional councils due to sensitization programmes mounted by the Commission with support from Action Aid Ghana and other partners.

Chiefs like the Paramount Chiefs of Bongo, Binaba and Tongo should be commended for initiating the concept, he said.

The Paramount Chief of the Bongo Traditional Area, Naba Baba Salifu Aleemyarum, said he was very happy about the initiation of women into the traditional council and indicated that the pressure in relation to women issues had reduced.

He appealed to his colleagues to adopt the concept since it was one of the best methods of empowering women and expressed the hope that a lot of traditional councils would embrace it.