The District Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in the Asante-Akim North District, has taken its campaign on violent extremism to the Inter-Party Dialogue Committee (IPDC) in the District.
The campaign, which seeks to sensitise the public on the dangers of violent extremism and foster national cohesion and peaceful co-existence, has seen the NCCE engaging various stakeholders across the country.
The NCCE is implementing the campaign in collaboration with the National Security Ministry with support from the European Commission (EU) on the theme, “Empowering the Ghanaian to Stand for National Cohesion and Inclusive Participation.”
As key stakeholders in the maintenance of peace and security at the community level, the Asante-Akim North NCCE decided to engage political parties and other stakeholders through the IPDC in order to reach out to the larger community.
The meeting was attended by representatives from the New Patriotic Party (NPP), National Democratic Congress (NDC), Convention People’s Party (CPP) and the Peoples’ National Convention (PNC).Other participants were drawn from the Muslim community, Local Council of Churches, Persons with Disability (PWDs), women groups and some heads of decentralized departments.
They applauded the NCCE for the initiative and called for more such dialogues to promote peace, unity and development at the community level.
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They were of the view that development could only thrive where there was peace and security and pledged their commitments to join forces to promote peace in their respective communities.
All the political representatives unanimously agreed to engage members of their parties to eschew political violence and rather engage in a healthy contest of ideas in their quest to win political power.
Mr. Seth Obeng Asiedu, the District Director of NCCE, underlined the need for the participants to join the campaign against violent extremism by sensitizing their people on the danger it posed to national security.
He encouraged them to swiftly report any suspicious character in their communities as a civic responsibility.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Fabian Sallah, the District Crime Officer who chaired the meeting, took participants through the Public Order Act and implored them to be abreast with it to avoid activities that contravened the Act.
He particularly advised the public to notify the Police five clear days ahead of any public demonstration or installation of a chief as provided in the Act.
Mr. Richard Osei, the Representative of the NCCE Regional Director, recommended the use of alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms to resolve conflicts amicably to avoid escalation.
