Sekondi, April 27, GNA - Mr Kusi Aboraah, Western Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), on Tuesday called on electorate to elect patriotic people in the upcoming District Assembly Elections to ensure effective planning and implementation of issues. He noted that dedicated and committed assembly members would be in t= he position to implement decisions that would reflect the aspirations and interests of the electorates. The NCCE Director was launching this year's Annual Constitution Week= at Sekondi, which is being observed on the theme: "Enhancing Constitutionali= sm through Effective Citizens' Participation for Good Governance". The launching also marked the tenth annual celebration of the constitution in Ghana's democracy. Mr Aboraah indicated that complains from most people showed that peo= ple have lost interest in the district assemblies' concept but urged them to discard that notion and rather participate in the process to ensure good governance. He said it was when the electorate participated actively in governan= ce that they would have the vim to criticize and hold leaders accountable wh= en they go wrong. To whip up their interest in governance, Mr Aboraah encouraged the public to show interest in topical issues to be well informed and take decisions, which would go a long way for leaders to exhibit transparency in governance. He regretted that participation in the Municipal, Metropolitan and District Assembly concept has become so low that unit committee and other=

vital structures does not exist in some areas thus allowing few people to= be in charge of planning. "Citizens must therefore participate in community meeting, write to the elected representatives, follow politics in news, vote during elections a= nd tell the unit committee/assembly members as well as parliamentarians the effects of the decisions on local and national development", Mr Aboraah said. He said achievement of good governance could not be realized withou= t effective participation, which is a key requirement of good governance. Mr Aboraah explained that it was in the light of this that the NCCE=

has been developing various strategies aimed at getting all Ghanaians to understand the need to ensure the survival of the constitution by observi= ng its contents. Activities earmarked for the celebration include, civic education i= n the churches, for security agencies, on radios, clean up exercises and community durbars.