NCCE/ SOMALILAND DELEGATION CONFER ON SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT

The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has paved the way for a delegation from the Somaliland Centre for Civic Education (SCCE) to pay a courtesy call on the Speaker of Ghana’s Ninth (9^th) Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin. The team from the SCCE has been in Ghana to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ghana’s National Commission for Civic Education. The MoU between the two parties seeks to engender a partnership aimed at enhancing civic education in both countries.

Chairperson of the NCCE, Madam Kathleen Addy, indicated that the Commission, having gained a reputation worthy of emulation, has, for some years, been taking receipt of enquiries often to ascertain processes that resulted in its establishment, how it operates, and the Commission’s ability to sustain its relevance for the period it has existed.

This, according to Ms. Addy, informed the Commission’s resolve to constitute a consultancy wing to formalize and keep track of such enquiries, hence, the partnership agreement with Somaliland, which will provide an opportunity for NCCE to proffer advisory services to the latter as they take steps to firmly root civic education in their country. “The team from Somaliland has demonstrated a lot of enthusiasm and drive, meritorious of our support, which is why we found it expedient to officially enable their visit to you, get them to experience the evolution of our democracy, see the structures, which, in the long run, can help them in their course of action”, she added.

The delegation from Somaliland, made up of Khadar Nur Abdi, who is the Director-General at the Ministry of Parliamentary Relations and Constitutional Affairs, together with the Director of the Centre for Civic Education and Democracy in Somaliland, Abdirisak Yusuf Jama, expressed immense appreciation for the opportunity. Mr. Nur Abdi, corroborating earlier statements by Ms. Addy, noted how fascinated they are about Ghana’s democracy and the role NCCE has played over the years in the consolidation of the same. He further intimated, “We are therefore here to learn how this success was chalked up, take a cue from Ghana to know how the democratic institutions work in synergy”.

The Rt. Hon. Speaker, in his welcome remarks, unreservedly pointed out that the National Commission for Civic Education remains a formidable pillar in Ghana’s democracy. While admitting to the shortfalls in providing the necessary support to fully maximise the services of NCCE, the Speaker commended the Commission for living up to the task of leading the charge in keeping democracy afloat in the country. “It was not for nothing that the framers of the 1992 Constitution decided to make NCCE a constitutional body, instead of a statutory one; so that they can enjoy the latitude of independence to freely operate”, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin opined. He highlighted that, “as Parliament, we only have an oversight responsibility to NCCE, so we cannot delve into how they work; our interest is to know what they used their state-allocated funds for”.

Meanwhile, Rt. Honourable Alban Bagbin assured the NCCE of Parliament’s utmost support in ensuring that the partnership between NCCE and Somaliland takes shape and yields the anticipated result to the benefit of both countries and Africa at large.

Present at the meeting in Parliament were the Deputy Chairman, in charge of General Services, Victor Brobbey, Commission Secretary, Lucille Hewlett Annan and the Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs, Rita Amparbin.