Security agencies will deal with rogues : On election day — Interior Minister
The Interior Minister, Mr Prosper Bani, has urged the electorate to turn up in their numbers to vote on Election Day as the security agencies are prepared to deal with any rogue elements that would want to derail the country’s peace.
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He stressed that the police and other security agencies were ready to protect the electoral process and the general public before, during and after the 2016 elections.
“There is nothing to fear. The security services are very alert. We are going step by step towards December 7 and nothing will change the experiences of the past six elections,” he stated at the opening of the 2016 Synod of the Global Evangelical Church in Accra yesterday.
Mr Bani, who was the guest of honour for the event, however, admonished all to be law abiding, and added that the responsibility of ensuring societal peace was the responsibility of every individual.
He impressed on the public to have trust and confidence in state institutions and the country’s Constitution as they had supervised six elections without any major violence.
He, however, advised all to be cautious of the utterances they make, ‘as there is power in words’.
While commending the GEC for its strides in the delivery of education and health, he said the ministry would partner the churches to protect the country’s peace.
Mr Bani also encouraged the public to continually pray for the country.
National development agenda
The Moderator of the GEC, Rt Rev. Dr Setorwu Kwadzo Ofori, in a keynote address, stressed the need for a national development road map even as the country prepared for the general election and contended that “no single political party’s manifesto can fulfil Ghana’s dream of becoming a great and prosperous nation.”
He, therefore, appealed to all the political parties to contribute to putting together a national development plan for the country.
“All political parties must be committed to implementing it when they are in power. It is a foundation for collective governance and collective accountability to the state,” he said.
On the need for peaceful elections, Rt Rev. Dr Ofori said the electorate must aim at ensuring peace as they exercised their franchise in the upcoming elections.
Education
He also appealed to the Ghana Education Service to grant the church an Education Unit to facilitate effective coordination and public partnership for its mission schools.
With 24 basic schools which had enrolled about 10,000 children, the GEC moderator said an Education Unit for the church would support the government’s education promotion agenda.
“The church believes that apart from supporting the government’s agenda of providing quality basic education for all children, its focus on Christian education ensures the development of Christ-like character in children, which is relevant for curbing corruption, indiscipline, moral degradation and other social vices,” he stated.
On health, he said, the Global Evangelical Mission hospital did not record a single maternal and neonatal death out of the 169 cases it managed last year.