Regional News of Thursday, 15 August 2013

Source: GNA

‘NCCE officials are not prophets of doom’

Mr Samuel Akuamoah, a member of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has urged Ghanaians not to see personnel of the commission as apostles of doom.

He said the commission was being compelled by events of civil wars in some African countries to embark on a peace campaign in the run-up to the Supreme Court verdict on the 2012 election petition.

Mr Akuamoah made the comment at a peace forum organised by the Awutu East Municipal Directorate of the commission at Kasoa on Tuesday.

Religious leaders including Muslims, the media, the police, representatives of political parties and assembly members attended the forum.

Also present was Ms Hawa Koomson, the Member of Parliament for the area.

Mr Akuamoah said some Ghanaians had been bashing the commission as if it was working for the country to burn by launching a sustained peace campaign.

He said the NCCE had taken into account civil wars in some other countries and would not sit down for Ghana to go through the same experience, hence the vigorous education on peace.

“People who had witnessed civil war...will never do anything to disturb the peace the nation is enjoying,” he said.

Ms Mary Ankrah, the Municipal Director of the NCCE, advised leaders of political parties to comment favourably on the court ruling when it was released in order to calm down the nerves of their followers.

The forum identified FM stations as promoters of violence and appealed to their personnel to control their programmes, especially during the phone-in segments.

Ms Koomson appealed to the political parties to work together to bring peace to the communities.