Alhaji Aliyu Mohammed, Deputy Central Regional Director of the NCCE said the high level of disinterest and apathy by the citizenry to participate in the activities of local government units was an indication that Ghanaians have not been fully sensitised on their civic rights and responsibilities.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Alhaji Mohammed noted that when citizens were fully conscious of their civic responsibility, they demonstrated patriotism and became fully committed to their civic duties.

They also got involved in the decision-making processes of the state at all levels, to bring about the desired development, he added.

Alhaji Mohammed called on the Government to provide the necessary resources and logistics to the NCCE to step up a nationwide civic education campaign to rekindle community participation on the Local Government System to enhance public awareness.

He said participatory democracy occurred when the citizenry realised the need to contribute to the decision-making process and did not sit on the fence only to point fingers at their leaders if things went wrong.

Education, sensitisation and awareness were relevant in any political dispensation, adding that, the democratic aspirations of the country would be a farce if the NCCE was neglected in the provision of adequate resources to perform its duties, he noted.

According to him, civic education was a shared responsibility and therefore rallied the support of all to come on board to enlighten the citizenry on their civic rights and responsibilities.

He expressed the determination of the NCCE to collaborate with all relevant stakeholders to significantly tackle issues of child labour, child trafficking and revive civic clubs in schools to inculcate the tenets of patriotism and nationalism in them.

The Deputy Regional NCCE Director lauded the tremendous contributions of donor partners in the delivering of the Commission’s mandate, particularly during the 2016 general elections.