The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Uganda, The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Uganda, Rosa Malango, has commended Ghana for its democratic credentials, stating that they are worth emulating.
She was speaking at a media engagement to crown off a three-day visit to Ghana by a 19-member Ugandan delegation, to learn from some of Ghana’s critical state institutions.
She also urged Ghanaians to collectively support efforts by the government to resource the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) to deliver on its mandate.
As part of efforts to acquaint themselves with how some of Ghana’s critical state institutions function and pick vital lessons as well, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Ghana, hosted a 19-member Ugandan delegation.
The Ugandans critically assessed Ghana’s electoral administration, civic education and national peacebuilding.
“UNDP Ghana working with UNDP Uganda, we have what we call an integrated role when it comes to the SDGs implementation. Another role of ours is to connect knowledge and learning. So we facilitated this meeting with stakeholders like the Electoral Commission of Ghana, the National Commission for Civic Education, the Ministry for Interior and the Ghana Police Service, amongst others,” Assistant Resident Representative, Louis Kuukpen said.
Like Ghana, Uganda conducts presidential and parliamentary elections under a multiparty system with one party or candidate required to win a general election by more than 50 percent of valid votes cast.
Government Chief Whip of Uganda, who acknowledged some glaring similarities between the two countries, commended Ghana for safeguarding and strengthening its democracy, particularly through peaceful elections.
“In Uganda, a party wins with a very big margin but the acceptance of results is not easy. They even go to court and even to the court of Appeal. But the force displayed in Ghana towards election is a clear message that if you disrupt the electoral process, the police is ready for you. If we did that in Uganda people will say we are intimidating them. But Ghana is doing something good and we will emulate that. The establishment of the Peace Council in Ghana is something that must be emulated.”
She pointed out that youth unemployment and gender-based violence are critical national issues that must be tackled.
“We are both grappling with the issue of youth. During campaigns, the youth being the majority of the population, they have to be listened to, the challenges of job creation, and the challenges of gender-based violence. And also recognizing the role of traditional leaders and use them more when it comes to civic education,” Ruth Nankabirwa said.
Ghana’s National Commission for Civic Education, NCCE, since its inception in 1993, has metamorphosed into a fully independent institution with the mandate of educating citizens on civic matters.
But the NCCE remains one of the poorly funded state institutions; a similar problem Uganda faces with its version of the NCCE.
But the United Nations Resident Coordinator from Uganda Ms Rosa Malango believes citizens have a collective responsibility to resource the NCCE.
