John P Bojang, the chairman of the National Council for Civic Education (NCCE), has said that his institution will play a vital role in the up-coming local council elections by sensitising the electorate about the importance of the elections, and what is expected of their elected representatives, amongst others. The NCCE Chairman Bojang made this remark in an exclusive interview with the Daily Observer at his Cemetery Road office in Kanifing, yesterday. He said that at the moment, they are brazing up for a sensitisation tour to  make sure that the public is well fed with the necessary information, stressing the need  for them to come out and vote for a candidate who can deliver and not vote based on inter-personal relations.

“We have realised that many are taking this election on personality basis. Many are saying that councillors do not attend to their social functions which should not be the case. So we will make them to fully understand the roles of councillors,” he explained

According to him, council elections are equally as important as the Presidential and National Assembly elections, and must be taken seriously.

“Councillors work directly with people at the grassroot level, and thus know their immediate needs. So there is a need for the electorate to make a wise decision. We will not be out there to coax them on who they should be voting for but to educate them,” he went on.

Constraints

Mr Bojang pointed out that his institution is currently faced with problems of inadequate transportation, and also highlighted the need for air time on TV and radio, as  they are operating on a tight budget. To this end, he went on, NCCE has submitted its report to the National Assembly since they approve the annual  budget of the country. He added: “We believe we have been understood as we received overwhelming support from both sides of the Assembly”.

Dormancy

The NCCE boss rubbished criticism that his institution is dormant and therefore needs a complete overhaul to make it more robust in order to function effectively. Since its establishment in 1998, he said, the council has played and will continue to play an active role in educating the citizenry on their civic rights and responsibilities.