Religious Leaders Have The Right To Engage In Politics

The General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, the Rev. Dr. Fred Deegbe says as long as religious leaders live on this earth, they have every right to engage in earthly matters, including politics, which affects every human being. He said since government's activities affect how people live, religion has a part to play in the governance process because it is also associated with both the spiritual and physical welfare of the people. Rev. Deegbe was speaking on whether it is good for religious leaders to participate in political matters on GTV's Current Affairs Programme, Election Platform. On the issue of the creation of 45 new constituencies, Rev. Deegbe said religious leaders only played neutral role in consensus building among the political actors. A Representative from the Office of the National Chief Imam, Alhaji Mamah Gado Mohammed, said if religious leaders had not allowed the political parties to run series of dialogue sessions on the 45 new Constituencies saga, the whole debate would have led to chaos. He therefore reiterated the assertion that religious leaders played a good role in bringing about peace. The Catholic Bishop of the Koforidua Dioceses, Bishop Joseph Afrifa Agyekum, who also spoke on the programme, said religion and politics compliment each other and that it is crucial for religious leaders to hold government accountable for it policies.