Ghanaians have been called to rise up for their rights and not allow public officials to take them for granted in the discharge of their duties.
Mr Ibrahim Iddrisu, Nanton District Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), who made the call, said public servants were servants of the people and must be held accountable to the people they serve.
He was speaking at a durbar on public accountability and environmental governance organised by the NCCE at Gbumgbum in the Nanton District of the Northern Region, as part of his outfit’s implementation of the Accountability, Rule of Law and Anti-corruption Programme (ARAP).
About 173 people comprising persons with disabilities, Assembly and Unit Committee members, traditional authorities, faith-based organisations, women groups, ARAP stakeholders amongst others attended the durbar.
The ARAP, sponsored by the European Union, seeks to promote good governance by reducing corruption and improving accountability and compliance and the rule of law.
Mr Iddrisu said there is a need for the public to actively participate in decision-making at the local level and demand accountability from duty-bearers.
Mr Alhassan Seidu, Deputy Chief Investigator at the Nanton District Directorate of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), who spoke on the topic: “Whistleblowing Mechanism and Anti-Corruption: The Role of the Citizenry”, expressed the need for the citizenry to report any impropriety to the appropriate quarters to help curb corruption in the country.
Mr Seidu urged them to be bold in reporting corrupt practices to the right institutions, as that is the only way as citizens, we can contribute our quota to make Ghana a better place.
Mr Abdul-Rahman Abudu, a Resource Person from the Nanton District Environmental and Sanitation Unit, urged the people to desist from bad practices such as open defecation.
Some of the participants raised issues of poor supervision of schools by circuit supervisors, teacher absenteeism, poor quality of food served under the school feeding programme in the area and called for measures to address the situation.
Naa Abukari Abdulai, chief of Gbumgbum, called on influential persons to stop interfering in corruption investigations involving their friends to enable the country to effectively respond to corruption issues.