The Assin North Municipal Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has held a number of community fora to enlighten the public on the 1992 Constitution. Citizens were reminded at those gatherings that all the talk about good governance would come to nothing if they did not take their participation in the democratic process beyond voting during elections. While commending the electorate for their active involvement during electioneering campaigns and elections, the Municipal director of the NCCE, Mr Thomas Yallow, said voting alone was not enough to bring about the necessary transformation in the country. According to him, what was required was for the electorate to support the elected representatives and leaders with viable ideas, as well as practical actions for the formulation and implementation of relevant policies and programmes for development. "If we vote people into positions and afterwards refuse to attend meetings to plan and carry out development programmes, the elected personalities alone may not be able to capture our developmental needs in their proposals and plans." The Director therefore advised the people to attend community meetings regularly and also to participate actively in communal labour. At one of the fora in Assin Breku, Mr Yallow said so long as all the powers of government emanated from the sovereign will of the people, it would be wrong for citizens to sit on the fence while a lot of things went wrong in the society. To this end, he implored the people to demand from their elected representatives regular reports and accounts of their stewardship. He also asked the elected representatives and people in authority not to alienate themselves from the electorate after assuming office. He noted that it was the attitude of some of appointed public officials which caused disillusionment among the electorate to the extent that some did not want to participate in the governance process. Mr Yallow warned the electorate not to allow themselves to be influenced by material things, especially money, before throwing their support behind political office seekers, since this would make it difficult for them to demand accountability for their stewardship. Source: GNA