By Samuel Ansah Boateng
Mr. Charles Owusu; head of operations at the Forestry commission has called on Ghanaians to jealously guard the peace currently being enjoyed in the country after a successful and peaceful election this year. He was speaking during a press briefing to measure the success of his peace campaign before, during and after the elections.
“Having peace in Ghana does not mean there will be absence of conflicts, but it is the ability to handle conflicts through peaceful approaches, there were a few incidences in various places but I believe the security agencies were on top of their game”. He revealed
Mr Charles Owusu launched a peace campaign to encourage supporters of political parties to eschew peace before, during and after the elections.
Dubbed “I stand for peace before during and after elections”, the Charles Owusu peace campaign team met various stakeholders to educate them on conflict management and tolerance. The team mounted various billboards across the country to create an extra visibility for their peaceful election message.
“I encourage Ghanaians to respect the electoral process, to trust the electoral commission and to work together with the security agencies to maintain the peace the country currently enjoys. These institutions only have a mandate because of the citizens; in the absence of the citizens, they fail to exist. It is therefore imperative to know that the work of the electoral commission and the security agencies is in the interest of the people and not for any political party”
According to Mr. Owusu, the Overall Aim of the Elections 2020 peace campaign is to increase the effectiveness of citizens’ actions for credible, peaceful and inclusive presidential and parliamentary elections. The focus was on educating all stakeholders at all levels on choosing peaceful resolutions even in conflict related circumstances.
“Ghana remains the only country for us, we therefore owe it a duty to utilize whatever resources at our disposal to help maintain the enviable peace in the country. I am always motivated by the way my formal boss and mentor Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie Popularly known as Sir John handled his political career, the extemporary political lifestyle he led. He was friendly with everyone, even those with opposing political views. After all his contributions to Ghana and the several successes he achieved for the forestry commission, He is no more with us, may his gentle soul rest in peace; none of us will be here forever. That’s why we must not allow political party differences to separate us as a people.” he said
He commended the EC on organizing one of the most peaceful and incident free elections in the 4th republic and encouraged all parties to accept the verdict of the Ghanaian people which will be communicated by the electoral commission.
Ghanaians went to the polls on Monday the 7th December to elect a president and parliamentarians to run the 8th government under the 4th Republic.
