Accra, Jan. 4, GNA - President John Evans Atta Mills on Monday emphasized the need for collective effort by all Ghanaians to sustain the democratic system of governance that the nation has chosen. He said democratic governance was not only about elections, but was also inexorably linked to human development.

The President, in an address read for him by Mr Alex Tetteh-Enyo, Minister of Education, at the opening of the 61st Annual New Year School in Accra, pledged that his government would hold in sanctity the Constitution. He said it would not operate outside the ambit of the Constitution and added that it would continue to interact with the Judiciary so that freedom, justice and human rights were upheld.

The 2010 New Year School under the theme: "Sustaining Democratic Governance in Ghana: Issues before the Nation," would focus on developing a framework for sustaining democratic governance in Ghana. It is also aimed at creating a platform for participants from all walks of life to discuss and offer ideas on topics including enhancing the capacity of the youth for national development.

The School would have seminar group discussions, symposiums and lectures on topics such as: "Improving the Electoral Process for Democratic Governance", Promoting the Nation's Health and National Health Insurance Programme" and "Increasing the number of Women in Governance". Other topics are: "Strengthening Local Governance for Development", Providing Education for Citizenship", "Assessing the Role of Objective and Independent Media in Promoting Democratic Governance", "Improving Law Enforcement and Respect for Human Rights" and "Promoting Stability and National Integration for Peaceful Co-existence".

President Mills indicated that the sustenance of the democratisation process and how to utilise it, depended on the development of institutions and processes that were more responsive to the needs of ordinary citizens, including the poor and vulnerable in society.

He, therefore, gave the assurance that his government would not rest on its oars to bring development to every nook and cranny of the Ghanaian society and was working assiduously to ensure that the Northern Savannah Development Plan bore fruit to reduce poverty levels in the three northern regions. The President also said his government would ensure the judicious use of the oil revenue so that Ghanaians would benefit fully from the God-given resource. President Mills mentioned other efforts such as reviewing of the National Youth Employment Programme to make it more efficient and effective to reduce the high unemployment rate among the youth. He said it would also implement the Youth in Agriculture programme to create more employment opportunities and urged participants to come up with new strategies to deal with the challenges facing the youth. The President commended the Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE) for sustaining the annual New Year School for the past 60 years, saying the contributions and recommendations had added richly to the development of national policies.

President Mills said the theme for this year was very relevant as Ghana's immediate past elections were no pleasant achievements for the country. He recalled various disturbances and irresponsible behaviours displayed by certain individuals and groups, saying this resulted in creating great fear, anxiety and uncertainty among the citizenry.

He, however, said: "Ghana made it at the end". He called for the need to strengthen political parties to enable them to play decisive roles during and after elections in educating their members and also strengthening state institutions such as the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and the Electoral Commission to intensify public education and participation in the democratic process.