Christians asked to hold government accountable

Accra, March 10, GNA- Nana Oye Lithur, Coordinator of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative office in Africa, has observed that Christians in Ghana were not proactive in holding democratic institutions like the government accountable to stay on the course of good governance.

"They become passive contributors to the weakening of the moral fibre of Ghana and passive contributors to the growing indiscipline in the society," she said during a book launch at the Living Faith Ministries International in Accra.

"We need more than preaching from the pulpit, we need to be more proactive," she told the congregation that witnessed the launching of "The Fundamentals of Solid Faith", written by Mr Johnson Abledu of the Church.

Nana Lithur, a Legal Practitioner, said Christianity was not at variance with protecting human rights and political participation. He said Moses in the Bible led a political agitation for independence, when he demanded from the Pharaoh, who was engaging Israelites as slaves in Egypt, to "let my people go". Nana Lithur said the 1992 Constitution granted all citizens of Ghana, the freedom to participate in politics.

She asked Christians to get actively involved in the political process to address problems like immorality, indiscipline, marginalizing of religious knowledge in the school's curriculum and the subsequent increase in occultist practices.

"When people sleep on hungry stomach, cannot get access to clean water, to equitable health services, it is a human rights violation. The Church and Christians must speak out on this too," she said. Mr Abledu said the book sought to shift the focus of the Church from the Ministry of the Clergy to the Ministry of the Laity. "It seeks to help the layman in the Church to attain maturity and equip him or her to serve Christ effectively, he said.

The book is also aimed at directing, guiding, teaching, inspiring and activating the Church's appetite for discovering the practical ways of reaching out to God.