The Eastern Regional Secretariat of the National Peace Council is calling for an intensive public education on the upcoming referendum on December 17.
According to the Council, majority of Ghanaians will be in a better position to make informed decisions if they are well educated and sensitized on the referendum.
In an interview with journalists on the sidelines of a National Peace Council capacity building workshop for the media in Koforidua, the regional Chairman Rev. Fr Andrew Kwami Dunyo called on appropriate institutions to intensify public education in the coming weeks.
“When it comes to communication or dissemination of information, there should always be a dialogue. If someone has a dissenting view from yours that doesn’t mean that you have to fight the person, so we need to sit down, we need to talk, we need to dialogue and find a way out of the situation.
Education about what we intend to do on this referendum is key, we need to educate people to know what the whole process is all about. If people are misinformed then it creates a problem that is why it is important that journalists must also know exactly what this process is all about so that they can also educate the public accordingly. We can do more, so I will say it is not too late, we need to intensify the education process so that people can be well informed and also go out there to inform others about it”.
The Institute of Local Government Studies’ latest survey indicates that more than sixty percent of Ghanaians are aware of the upcoming referendum and have a good understanding of the exercise.
This is contrary to the Afro-barometer report by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) which says that more than half of Ghanaians are unaware of the 2019 national referendum slated for December 17, 2019.
Presenting the findings at a press conference on Monday, Director for the Institute, Dr. Nicholas Awortwi, however, indicated that voters in their twenties are the least aware of the impending exercise.
Dr. Awortwi further noted that more than sixty percent of the electorate will turn up at the polls with 75 percent of that number, voting YES.
The Afro-barometer report stated that a significant proportion of Ghanaians are either not likely to vote in the referendum or “don’t know” whether or not they will vote.
The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) had rejected claims that it has done a poor job in educating the public on the upcoming referendum on December 17, 2019.
Meanwhile, there are matters arising on the upcoming referendum as various groups and leaders are sharing contrasting views on the effects the election of MMDCEs along partisan lines would have on the country.
A local government analyst, George Kyei Baffour had admonished Ghanaians to vote YES in the upcoming December 17th referendum as he believes will increase accountability at the local level.
According to him, the YES vote which is geared towards accomplishing a constitutional mandate will ensure greater participation of the citizenry in the decision-making process for good governance.
However, Tony Dogbe who is a social development facilitator has cautioned that the election of MMDCEs on a partisan basis will result in more political mess.
He said the move will lead to abuse of power at the local level, just as it happens at the national level and hence deepen corruption at the assemblies
The post E/R: Peace council calls for more education on Dec referendum appeared first on Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana, Current Affairs, Business News , Headlines, Ghana Sports, Entertainment, Politics, Articles, Opinions, Viral Content.
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