Nandom: The Nandom Municipal Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has engaged women’s groups in the municipality to discuss their civic responsibilities, the rule of law, and efforts to combat corruption. This initiative is part of the Commission’s ongoing civic education programmes aimed at empowering Ghanaian citizens to actively participate in the fight against corruption.
According to Ghana News Agency, the engagement, held in Nandom, included participants from various women’s groups such as hairdressers, dressmakers, weavers, market women, widows’ associations, self-help groups, and faith-based organisations. Mr Issahaque T. Angme, the Nandom Municipal Director of the NCCE, addressed the gathering, urging the women to take an active role in holding duty bearers accountable and promoting integrity within their communities and workplaces.
The engagement is part of the ‘Civic Engagements on the Rule of Law and the Fight Against Corruption’ project, under the ‘Participation, Accountability and Integrity for a Resilient Democracy (PAIReD)’ programme. This project is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and co-financed by the European Union (EU) and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The initiative is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in partnership with Ghana’s Ministry of Finance.
Mr Angme emphasized that corruption poses a significant obstacle to national development and encouraged the women to champion good governance to combat corruption and abuse of power. He explained that the NCCE is implementing targeted educational campaigns for women’s groups in the fight against corruption and the rule of law in 60 districts across Ghana’s 16 regions.
Additionally, Mr Samson Balazumah, the Nandom Municipal Director of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), educated participants on various forms of corruption, including bribery, sexual extortion (sextortion), nepotism, facilitation payments, and conflict of interest. He also informed the participants about the Whistleblower’s Act and the legal protections available to those reporting corruption-related offenses. ‘There are laws that protect citizens who report corrupt practices, so report any corrupt activity you experience or witness to CHRAJ to investigate, and you will be protected by the law,’ Mr Balazumah said.