Culture of violence and impunity retards nation's growth - Rev. Minister

Suhum (E/R), Jan. 20, GNA – Rev. Joseph Agyemang Appiah in-charge of the Suhum central branch of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) in the Eastern Region, has called for an end to the culture of violence and impunity in politics because they affect the growth of the country’s democracy. “Threatening mayhem and using violence to settle political scores would also not help the democratic development,” he said.

Delivering a sermon at an intercession programme on Friday under the theme: “Let this mind be in you,” the Minister observed that many people still did not have knowledge of good governance in the country and therefore called for more education in that regard.

He led about 450 Christians to pray for the President and his Vice, Ministers of State, parliamentarians and the sick. Twenty eight (28) children were baptized into the church to become followers of Christ and to propagate the word of God on that day.

Rev. Appiah prayed for peace and tranquility for the realization of the “Better Ghana" agenda and pledged the congregation’s unflinching co-operation for political leaders working expeditiously to help improve peoples' life-style and enhance the socio-economic progress of the country.

He called on people, who have been appointed to high offices by the government to discharge their functions diligently without any blemish.

He asked the government to do all it could to address the concerns that were dear to the heart of the people and also ensure that it works assiduously towards protecting the rights and interests of the people to fully utilize their potentials to contribute to nation building.

Rev. Appiah called on business owners to file their tax returns regularly and on time in order to help solve some of the challenges facing their communities and appealed to the government to assist the Ghana Revenue Authority with more logistics and human resource to discharge their duties effectively. He asked self-seeking politicians in the country, to halt their nefarious and unpatriotic actions aimed at destabilizing the nation.

He stressed that without the truth, it would be difficult for the nation to have decent livelihood to help enhance peoples’ living conditions and therefore, called on Ghanaians to pursue the truth so as to move the country forward.

Rev. Appiah urged Ghanaians not to be defensive about corruption, but rather adopt a positive attitude towards identifying, minimizing and possibly, eradicating the canker.

According to him, Ghana has vibrant parliamentarians dedicated and knowledgeable on good governance processes that were worth appreciating.

Rev. Appiah added that the role of parliamentarians, as representatives of the people in the promotion of good governance, could not be over emphasized as their roles and activities go a long way to contribute immensely to the promotion of peace before, during and after elections.

The Reverend Minister called for peace, since it was the pre-requisite for the growth of multi-party democracy in the country.

He also called on the people to see themselves as one people and not to allow politics to divide them.

He cautioned Ghanaians to desist from undermining, backbiting and any other acts which could lead to litigation or conflicts.

As a result, he asked the various political parties in the country to ensure that their functionaries refrain from abusing the dignity of politicians.

Rev. Appiah called on Christians not to be materialistic and rather focus on the teaching of Christianity.

He applauded the meaningful role of the media in fostering democracy and national development and called on practitioners to desist from presenting negative image of the country.