By Dennis Peprah, GNA
Sunyani, Sept. 23, GNA – The Most Reverend Professor Emmanuel Asante, a former chairman of the National Peace Council (NPC), has called on the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to be proactive and strictly enforce laws on noise-making in the country.
He said the uncontrolled sounds in the environment were exacerbating the conditions of people, particularly those with hypertension and cardiovascular diseases.
“There are too much noise in the environment and even some of the churches are making too much noise,” he stated.
Most Rev. Prof. Asante made the call at a durbar to mark the 2023 International Peace Day, held at the Sunyani St Anselm Cathedral of the Anglican Church, organised by the Bono Regional Peace Council.
In 1981, the United Nations General Assembly declared the third Tuesday of September as International Day of Peace to strengthen the ideals of peace around the world.
The global theme for the day was “Actions for Peace: Our Ambition for the #GlobalGoals”, and underpinned the 2023 edition of the Geneva Peace Talks.
It is a call to action that recognises individuals and collective responsibility to foster peace.
Prof. Asante highlighted the relevance of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and called for concerted approach, putting the nation on the edge to achieve targets for the global goals by 2030.
Just about seven years to go, Most Rev. Prof. Asante said the nation had lot to do to achieve the set targets of the 17 global goals, including poverty eradication, clean water and sanitation, quality education, decent work for all, reducing inequalities as well as sustained cities and gender balance.
He expressed disgust about the uncontrolled pollution of water bodies, regretting that most of the nation’s river bodies were polluted and fast drying up due to unscrupulous human activities.
The former Peace Council Chairman said he was extremely unhappy that many of the public institutions in the country “are not working”, saying that was not promoting the nation’s holistic and speedy progress.
Prof Asante said achieving the SDGs remained essential, saying that would not only facilitate holistic national development, but also strengthened sustained peace, promote peaceful life and relationship as well as strengthen the nation’s peace infrastructure.
He urged the clergy and Muslim leaders and scholars to use the pulpit to speak against the wanton destruction of the environment, saying “God would no spare us if we sit down and allow our people to destroy the environment.”
Touching on politics, Most Rev. Prof. Asante asked politicians to propagate their policies instead of engaging in politics of insults and personality attacks which threatened the nation’s fledgling democracy.
Alhaji Suallah Abdallah Quandah, the Bono Regional Executive Director of NPC, lauded the peaceful co-existence between Muslims and Christians in the country and expressed the hope that such cordial relationship would be strengthened for sustained peace required for holistic development.
Sheikh Zakaria Ibrahim, the Dormaa Municipal Chief Imam, emphasised Islam remained a peaceful religion and asked Muslims to endeavour to adhere to Quranic teachings to strengthen national peace and social cohesion.
Giving a brief history, Sheikh Ibrahim emphasised Christians and Muslims had direct relations, saying both religions were birthed out of the seed of Abraham, being Isaac and Ismael, the sons of the biblical patriarch.
He urged Christians and Muslims in the country to be guided by the biblical and Quranic principles, saying that would greatly influence their thoughts and thinking patterns and position them to embrace each other, remain tolerant and promote peace and unity for development to thrive.
Prof. Mrs. Mercy Afua Adutwumwaa Derkyi, the Chairperson of the Bono Regional Peace Council, later sworn in the Very Rev. Kwaku Effah, the Bishop-elect of the Sunyani Methodist Diocese as an eminent member of the 13-member reconstituted Bono Regional Peace Council.
Prof. Mrs. Derkyi, also a lecturer at the University of Energy and Natural Resources, took the Rev Minister through the oaths of office, allegiance and secrecy.
GNA