The Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Professor Gyimah-Boadi, has noted that Ghana could fully consolidate the gains of democracy through intensive civic education.

He observed that although the country had made significant progress in its democratic dispensation after the promulgation of the 1992 Constitution, majority of Ghanaians were yet to fully participate in the governance of the state.

Prof. Gyimah-Boadi made the observation when he delivered a lecture on: “Making Democracy Work in Ghana,” as part of series of lectures organized by the University of Cape Coast in Cape Coast over the weekend.

He said the decentralization policy had not yielded the expected dividends in the area of participation of women and the uneducated, who were always denied full contribution to governance at both the national and local levels.

Prof. Gyimah-Boadi called for the strengthening of state institutions to enable them to discharge their constitutional mandate efficiently.

He expressed worry that many of these institutions lacked basic resources such as trained staff, logistics, adequate budget allocation and infrastructure at the regional and district levels.

Prof. Gyimah-Boadi said conscious efforts must be made to create avenues for individuals to contribute and benefit from the gains of democracy.

He said that “Government policies and development plans must reflect the ideals of the entire citizens of the nation and not only party loyalists.”

Prof. Gyimah-Boadi advised the media not to allow their platform to be used to promote the selfish agenda of individuals, especially politicians, to the detriment of the entire nation.

He condemned politics of insult on the nation’s airwaves and reminded the media of their role as watchdogs in society.

Prof. Gyimah-Boadi also lamented the high level of ethnocentrism in national politics and warned that, Ghana could be torn apart if the practice was not stopped; like it occurred in Rwanda and other war-thorn countries in Africa.

He called on Ghanaians to be law abiding and demand accountability from elected governments.

Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, Vice Chancellor of UCC, reiterated the call on Ghanaians to discharge their civic responsibilities.**