Ms Josephine Nkrumah, the Chairperson for the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has paid a working visit to the Upper East Region to assess the Commission’s activities in the Region.

The two day visit to the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions formed part of a nationwide tour the Commission is undertaking to evaluate its performance under the Third Grant of the European Union (EU) sponsorship it received since 2016.

The Chairperson, who was accompanied by Mr Samuel Asare Akuamoah, Deputy Chairman of the Commission in charge of Operations, speaking to the media commended the EU for the support the Commission had enjoyed over the years saying, “a minimum of 80 percent of the Commission’s activities are being sponsored by the EU”.

Explaining the Grant, Ms Nkrumah disclosed that the Third Grant was given to the NCCE to help in the education and sensitization programmes of the Commission towards achieving peaceful, free and transparent Presidential and Parliamentary elections in 2016.

She attributed the successes of the general elections in 2012 and 2016 to the immense support the Commission had received from the EU to carry out its civic education programmes.

She added that the Grant enabled the Commission to collaborate effectively with major stakeholders including the Electoral Commission (EC), public institutions, Civil Society Organizations, engage various political parties and their candidates, the communities, particularly conflict prone areas as well as the youth, to understand the electoral processes and the need to preserve and maintain peace before, during and after the elections.

“Some of the benefits of the Grant was capacity building, because based on the EU Grant we enhanced the skills of our staffs. We shared all kinds of information and knowledge relevant to the Presidential and Parliamentary elections to enhance the skills of engaging the citizenry on the democratic governance structure.

“We also benefited some equipment from the EU such as computers and accessories, furniture, photocopiers, printers, public address systems among others and also organized media advocacy workshops for selected journalists,” She added.

The Chairperson further stated that as result of the EU support, a research document which was on the topic “Matters of concern to the Ghanaian Citizenry” was produced in 2012 which has become a reference point for all the political parties in formulating their manifestoes that really addresses the concerns of the electorates.

Ms Nkrumah who commended Mr Rockson Ayine Bukari, the Upper East Regional Minister, for his commitment to supporting the Commission’s work, especially when he played the role of a resource person to educate pupils of basic schools on tax compliance and good governance during the Commission’s Citizenship Week Celebration, urged other regional ministers to emulate his example.

The Chairperson, who impressed on members of the public to have confidence in the Commission as a non- partisan public institution, which provided civic education, admonished the media to desist from focusing on only challenges of the Commission at the expense of its successes.

Mr Pontius Pilate Baba Apaabey, the Regional Director of the Commission, thanked the Chairperson for her visit and pledged his commitment to ensure that the Commission continued to achieve the desired results in the Region.