NCD LAUNCHES AN ABRIDGED VERSION OF THE 1991 CONSTITUTION By Siraju Bah, 6th March 2014. The National Commission for Democracy NCD in collaboration with ActionAid International in Sierra Leone has launched an abridged and simplified version of the 1991 constitution including a brailed version for the visually impaired to make every Sierra Leonean who can read the English Language easily understand the content of the constitution so that they can actively be part of the process of reviewing the 1991 constitution which is underway. Whilst launching the abridged and simplified version of the 1991 constitution, the Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, Theo Nicol, commended the Commission and ActionAid for producing a simplified version of the constitution in which the legal jargons have been reduced to a simple, readable secondary school English to enhance wider participation in the process so that the reviewed constitution will represent the interest of every Sierra Leonean. He said people would need to understand the constitution so that they could make use of the rights and privileges available therein and also understand their obligations as provided for in the constitution. He underscored the importance of the constitution saying that it is a sacred document that determines the way a society is regulated saying that the abridged and simplified version of the constitution will help people understand the constitution so that they can make inputs on the reviewed document from an informed position and will also regard the new constitution as their own. He said most people, even among the educated, breach sections of the constitution because they do not fully understand it, but an abridged and simplified version of the constitution will help people understand the constitution and make for better democratic good governance where the rule of law is guaranteed. He encouraged the media to give the necessary support to the constitutional review process so that the public will be fully abreast with the process and make invaluable contribution to the review of the constitution. The Chairman NCD, Dr. Abubakar H. Kargbo stated that the presentation of the abridged and simplified version of the 1991 constitution which is very crucial to the ongoing constitutional review process marks another significant step in the activities of the Commission. He noted that the mandate of the Commission deals with creating and sustaining public awareness of the principles and objectives of the constitution which constitutes the fundamental law of the country and also educate and encourage the Sierra Leonean public to continuously defend the constitution against any abuse and violation from any quarter. Since the Commission has been in the business of sensitizing the public about the constitutional review process, Dr Kargbo stated that the Commission deemed it worthwhile for the public to benefit from an abridged version of the 1991 constitution at a time when the Constitution is being reviewed in order to give citizens the opportunity to have clear understanding about the constitution that is under review and proper insight into what is reviewed. He said in spite of the financial challenges the Commission faces, the Commission has been working assiduously to ensure that it carried out its mandate noting that recently, the Commission organized a National Consultative Conference where people from all spheres of society where assembled in one place for three days to deliberate significant issues relating to the constitution and national cohesion, and the rule of law. He said the Commission has been organizing debates on topical issues bordering on democratic good governance both on Radio and TV and has created jingles in the various local languages which is aired in all the regions to further create the awareness on issues of democracy and good governance and to enhance people’s participation in the governance process of the state. Dr. Kargbo further informed his audience about the activities the Commission intends to rollout in the year 2014 saying that the Commission will have to organize four regional workshops for both the Civil Service and the Sierra Leone Police; the good governance magazine will be produced and distributed and NCD Hour at the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation will continue in the spirit of enhancing democratic good governance. He further stated that the national campaign on nationalism and patriotism will be launched in five schools in each region of the country and dialogue meetings will be held with the Ministry of Education about the need to return civic education to the schools. He said the Commission will organize two ward meetings in all the regions of the country to distribute the abridged version of the constitution in order to enhance wider access to the simplified version of the 1991 constitution and to prepare the ground for popular participation in the review process of the 1991 constitution. Dr. Kargbo called for a fervent collaboration between the Commission and the media in propagating the values of democratic good governance noting that the media plays an important role in educating the public about the review process and the need for people to be actively involved in the process, saying that he will appreciate the signing of MOUs with media institutions. The Country Director ActionAid International, Mr. Mohamed Sillah, noted that in spite of the fact that NCD is a government institution whilst ActionAid International is a non-governmental organization both institution share the common goal of popularizing the constitutional review process in order to have full participation from the public and besides NCD has the mandate to produce an abridged version of the constitution which is why ActionAid decided to collaborate with the Commission. He said as a right based organization, they believe that the constitution is the soul of a society that determines the only way one can benefit from the resources of the country and become prosperous more so when the laws in the constitution are guaranteed. He encouraged his audience to take active part in the review process saying that this is an opportunity that Sierra Leoneans cannot afford to miss and urged them to put hands on deck to ensure that the reviewed constitution reflect the interest of every facet of the society. He said the country has a lot of potential which could be realized only when the country has the right laws that will seek the interest of its people and the review process will provide an opportunity for the right laws to be included in the new constitution. The Executive Secretary of the Constitutional Review Committee, Augustine Sheku, commended the Commission for producing an abridged version of the 1991 constitution which will aid the understanding of people about the content of the constitution and be in a better position to make substantial input into the new constitution. He said the Committee is there to facilitate the process of reviewing the 1991 constitution whilst the review itself will be done by the public who will have to decide on what should be featured in the new document and noted that the launching of the abridged version of the 1991 constitution is timely and will help people have further insight into the document under review. The Chief Commissioner, National Commission for Persons with Disability, Mr. Frederick Kamara, commended NCD for producing the brailed version of the abridged version of the 1991 constitution thus according the visually impaired the opportunity to be part of the process noting that disability issues used to be neglected, but thanked NCD for considering them. He said his Commission is pleased with what NCD has done and assured his audience that people with disability especially the visually impaired will make full use of the brailed version and be actively involved in the process of reviewing the constitution, saying that the Commission will ensure that every blind person who can read brail will be provided with one brailed abridged version of the 1991 constitution.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 18:06:50 +0000
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