The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), in collaboration with the National Security, has engaged the Ashaiman Municipal Inter-Party Dialogue Committee (IPDC) on national cohesion and inclusive participation in governance.
The day’s workshop was on the theme: “Empowering Ghanaians to Stand for National Cohesion and Inclusive Participation.”
Members of the IPDC include representatives of traditional leaders, political parties, the media, identifiable groups, religious organisations, persons with disabilities and security services.
The programme saw the showing of a movie on the various civil and political wars in Africa with their repercussion of looting, killings, amputating of people’s hands, raping of women, displacement of people, and starvation, among others.
Members, after watching the movie and listening to resource persons from the NCCE and the Ghana Police Service, raised issues about general security, indiscipline and other social vices among the youth.
Ms Josephine Nkrumah, Chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), said the Commission would be streamlining its programmes to fuse in the teaching of Ghanaian values to ensure that children and the youth felt a sense of belonging to the country.
Ms Nkrumah said; “What is happening among the youth is frightening; they have lost sense of direction in everything.”
She, therefore, called on parents, caregivers, teachers, and other stakeholders to instil the right Ghanaian values into children and youth.
She said failure on the part of stakeholders to guide the youth now would allow them to grow thinking they could use violence and dubious ways to get whatever they wanted without considering the consequences.
Mrs Lucille Hewletts Annan, Greater Accra Regional NCCE Director, on her part, advised the general public to make use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to settle issues.
Mrs Annan said while it was good to use the court to settle issues, it was much better to use ADR to solve non-criminal cases as that could help maintain and preserve relationships.
She said Ghanaians should encourage each other to dialogue and use ADR services, saying when people do not have money and the patience to go through the court process, they resort to violence.
Superintendent Osman Alhassan, Ashaiman District Police Commander, speaking on the Public Order Act and Community Surveillance, said public event organisers such as demonstrations must inform the police of their intentions in line with the law.
Supt. Alhassan explained that by informing the police, the organisers would then be met to consider the routes and any possible security threat to the public as well as the demonstrators.
He said it was an offence not to inform the police, adding that refusal to notify the police and participating in an event that the police had not been notified on was punishable by a fine of 25 penalty units or up to one month imprisonment when found guilty by the court.
Ms Gifty Agyeiwaa Badu, Ashaiman Municipal Director of the NCCE, said the Inter-Party Dialogue Committee was formed by the Commission as a result of the tension that arose during the 2008 general elections.
GNA