Christian religious leaders and the National Muslim Conference of Ghana (NMCG) have been urged to utilise their influence to support security services in maintaining peace and security within their communities.
The Minister for the Interior, Alhaji Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, who made the call said the two religious leaders have a strong influence on communities and societies and therefore, should utilise their authority to shape the moral life of individuals for national development.
Speaking during an engagement with religious leaders, the Minister bemoaned some of the challenges that the security sector faced, such as over congestion of prisons, rise in drug abuse among the youth, and land guard issues.
While recognising these challenges, Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak said the Ministry was undertaking some initiatives to address those challenges and urged the public and the religious bodies to offer their support in that regard.
The Minister said the government would introduce initiatives that would help equip inmates with skills that would help them create their own businesses when they came out of prison.
Later at the meeting with the leaders of the National Muslim Conference of Ghana (NMCG), the Minister appealed to them to stand as a symbol of hope and resilience in maintaining peace in the Muslim communities.
The Minister expressed concern about vigilantism, land guard activities, and chieftaincy issues in some parts of the country, which had led to the imposition of curfews in those areas.
He appealed to Muslim leaders to support the government to help promote peace across the country, stressing that collaboration was needed to address the root causes of conflict and solutions for redress.
Alhaji Muntaka thanked the Muslim religious leaders for honoring his invitation and encouraged them to introduce programmes which would help promote peace in the Zongo communities.
The General Secretary of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, Apostle Emmanuel Tetteh, said Christian religious leaders were committed to peace and security in the country, and were ready to collaborate with the Ministry for the Interior in that regard.
The Ameer of Ahmadiya Mission, Maulvi Mohammed Bin Salih, appealed to the Minister and other key stakeholders to help improve infrastructure and education in the Zongo communities, as the lack of schools accounted for the challenges in those areas.
As part of the programme the Muslim Leaders and the Zongo Chiefs prayed for the Minister and wished him Allah’s guidance and protection.
BY RAYMOND APPIAH-AMPONSAH AND EUGENE AMPIAW
