THE Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) is to build the capacity of people and institutions in the three northern regions to participate effectively in national and local politics so as to contribute their quota to the country’s fledgling democracy.
It will also create avenues for the people to partake in national discourse on democratic governance issues to give real meaning to the principles of democracy which places more emphasis on citizen’s voices.
To realise these goals, the CDD has established an office in Tamale which will co-ordinate its programmes and activities so as to put it in a better position to collaborate well with the public and civic bodies in the north.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony for the new office, the Executive Director of the CDD-Ghana, Prof. Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi, said: “We see our presence in Tamale as an opportunity for the centre to widen the scope of its activities and services to include students, researchers, civil society groups and other stakeholders in the north.”
He said the centre had on many occasions organised capacity building programmes for a number of key democracy and governance actors in the north, adding that “pitching camp in Tamale will, therefore, facilitate these programmes and yield even greater results.”
Prof. Gyimah-Boadi said the Tamale office would facilitate the centre’s research, analysis and dissemination activities in the northern half of the country.
He said the Tamale office would also enable the centre to gather relevant feedback on the views of people in the northern half of the country on democratic governance issues as and when they emerged.
The director described the choice of Tamale for the northern office as appropriate because it “occupies a critical place in the institutionalisation of democratic governance in this country.”
“In addition to being the capital of the very large Northern Region, Tamale continues to be one of the most vibrant and dynamic cities in Ghanaian politics and serves as a strategic link to the Upper East and West regions,” he further stated.
Prof. Gyimah-Boadi acknowledged the contribution of the German Development Co-operation (DED) towards the establishment of the Tamale office and its consistent support to the CDD over the last three years.
He also commended the people of the region, particularly the chiefs and political heads, for their warm welcome and expressed the hope that that would lead to a fruitful relationship between the centre and the region.
The Northern Regional Minister, Mr Moses Bukari Mabengba, expressed delight over the CDD’s readiness to help advance the growth of democracy in the northern sector.
He said his ministry would work closely with the centre to reach its target audience.
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