The Right Reverend Robert Eshun, the Diocesan Bishop of the Asante Effiduase Diocese of the Methodist Church – Ghana, has called on Ghanaians to work to sustain the prevailing peace in all spheres of the society.
This, he said would ensure national cohesion, accelerated socio-economic development and a peaceful pre-election and aftermath.
He said in year 2020 – a crucial election year, peace must be the watchword for all Ghanaians in homes, work places and at all public gatherings to enable peace to be so deeply-rooted among the citizenry that all would abhor and jettison its breaches in all forms and appearances.
The Rt Rev Eshun, speaking to the media at the sidelines of the Church’s Diocesan Minister’s conference held at Akyawkrom in the Ejisu Municipality, said peace was not only essential for a successful elections, but also a necessary prerequisite for national development and the global integrity for the country.
Bishop Eshun said enjoying relative peace in the country should not be misconstrued to mean that advocates were trying to create unnecessary fear and panic among the citizenry – crying wolf when there was no wolf, but it is only a reminder not to take the prevailing peace for granted.
He urged the Electoral Commission (EC), to put in the necessary measures that would help promote intra political party harmonisation and also do everything in its mandate not to compromise its neutrality, to ensure a smooth conduct of the elections.
He urged all religious and traditional leaders as important peace brokers to merge efforts in developing strategies that would help nib in a bud any potential for violence that would emanate from political parties and their leaders.
“We as religious as well as traditional leaders, added to this role, have a lot of followers and this really demands our responsibility to ensure their peaceful existence and cohesion for the development of the society and the nation at large”, Bishop Eshun added.
The Very Reverend Joseph Kojo Galley, the Superintendent Minister of the Effiduase Circuit of the church said the church had a strong role to play in ensuring peace in the country as Christians were enjoined by the scriptures to do so.
He advised the youth not to allow themselves to be used by self-seeking politicians to engage individuals’ activities that would create violence and conflicts during this election year.
