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TOPIC: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POLITICIANS AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS
MEDIA HOUSE:
DATE: 01-09-2016
Precious: Good afternoon to you Sir and thanks for your time
Rev. Dr. Opuni: Good afternoon to you and your cherished listener.
Precious: How do you mean exactly in your call for an amicable solution to this current film make.
Rev. Dr. Opuni: Yes, now one area that we do not lack at as a country is in the area of religion. In fact we have it in abundance and therefore it is an area that we must develop it well and see how religion can facilitate national growth. Religion and politics have existed in our country for a long time but it seems we are having a challenge at the moment. The interface between religion and politics and that is why we are saying that instead of seeing the other as an enemy religious leaders and political leaders must work on a healthier interface between religion and politics after all we are serving the same Ghanaians. Politicians are looking for quality education, we want good health care facilities for our people and these are areas that the churches are also helping. Some of them have established universities, all kinds of clinics and hospitals. In the Volta Region you will find what the E.P Church has done all over so if we have such institutions addressing the needs of the people how small their contribution may be we must rather strengthen the partnership rather than weakening it so if we go that direction our people and those disadvantaged.
Precious:And nowthere are suggestions alsocoming in for the past Moderator to be invited by the police for questioning, do you think his recent pronouncement do warrant a meaning should security insist?
Rev. Dr. Opuni:Precious, I would want those who understand the law and the security to advice all of us but I will still think that if we are able to harmonize the relationship between politics and religion very well,we will be able to meet some of the needs of our people together. the religious bodies must be well positioned to compliment the efforts of the government and this is something we should not fail. This country must consider that because that is a core because if you examine the development history of this country and the role religious bodies – Traditional leaders, Muslim leaders, Christian leaders have played over the years is so enormous, that is what we need and whatever the challenge may be we need to address it and get the best out of what politics and religion have for us.
Precious:Alright, finally before we let you go don’t you think his integrity is hanging in the air by his continuous silence after the allegation since he would not go unto what he seemingly people’s relationship between those of the religious and political divide.
Rev. Dr. Opuni:You see Precious, let’s leave that. He is leaving off and then in the press conference he was enumerating some of the challenges as a leader he went through, then he said some politicians – you may know that he was in charge of Presbyterian Church, Greater Accra Region before becoming the Moderator and so he has served under NPP administration as well as NDC. He has not even made mention anybody. He said some politicians wanted him to keep quiet and under NPP it wasn’t easy for the churches. It wasn’t like during the NPP everything was fine. There was a time they wanted to delete religious and moral education from the curriculum and it was a tag of war and the churches received all manner of bites till finally and I think they were able to have a compromise decision and he was a leader and he has not changed. He was the leader of the Presbyterian Church, Greater Accra so I feel that whatever it deserves investigation by security agencies and all that so be it but the fact remain that as a people the harmony between politics and religion we have not been able to get the best out of it but that is an area we must explore because as at now, almost all the best second cycle institutions in Ghana take Achimota out belongs to the churches, 40% of all health facilities in this country belong to the churches and if the churches can play this and many more significant roles in our national development, we must not trivialize it, enhance it, sustain itfor Ghanaians to get the best out of religion and to me that is the direction we must go.
Precious:Thank you very much Rev. Dr. Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong and he is the General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana.
Rev. Dr. Opuni:Thank you Precious.
