People are not buying the Constitution - NCCE

Mr Ferdinand Anku, Volta Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), on Monday said the copies of the Constitution in the public domain stood at two per cent.

He said the NCCE would have to procure six million copies of the Constitution to sell at 50,000 cedis each to reach out to the 49.9 per cent of literate population.

Mr Anku was answering questions at an open forum as part of the launch of the Constitution Week celebration in Ho under the theme: "A Decade of Constitutionalism In Ghana-Strategies For Consolidation."

He said the public did not seem to see the value in owning the Constitution in much the same way as they do for the Bible.

Mr Anku said abridged versions of the Constitution were now available at 10,000 cedis each and appealed to the public to patronise them as a guide to their rights and obligations towards nation building.

''For democracy and constitutionalism to be consolidated and sustained there is the need for support from individuals, civil society and non-governmental organisations to come to the aid of the NCCE to carry out its mandate with ease.''

Mr Anku cautioned members of staff not to meddle in political activities as mandated by the Constitution saying, staff who demonstrated open biases toward any political party would be summarily dismissed.

Mr Kofi Gbedemah, Volta Region Chairman of NGOs, suggested that reading habits should be inculcated in children, urging the NCCE to aggressively advertise the Constitution for its acceptability among the youth.

Mr Modestus Ahiable, Member of Parliament for Ketu North, appealed to the Commission to sustain the formation of civic clubs in schools as a means of whipping up interest and building nationalism among students.