Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, The Speaker of Parliament, has assured the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) of Ghana’s commitment to collaborate with the union to fight against intolerance and promote peaceful co-existence in societies.
According to him, that is the only way for the world to know true peace and prosperity.
In a speech at the ongoing 146th IPU Assembly in Manama, Bahrain, on Monday, March 13, 2022 the Speaker touted the values of good democratic governance, which the Ghanaian Parliament is translating for the utmost benefit of its people.
This, he said, explains why a large gender parity delegation of four ladies, four men, three of whom are from government and three from the opposition, led by the Speaker, are there to work with the IPU and its members to craft out resolutions that will further the course of the theme and humanity as a whole.
The theme for the conference is: “Promoting peaceful co-existence and inclusive societies: Fighting intolerance”.
Rt. Hon Bagbin also charged the legislators worldwide to encourage tolerance and inclusive development through the laws they promulgate.
He reminded them that, as legislators, it behoves on them to encourage tolerance and inclusive development through the laws they make and, particularly, through the tools of their oversight of the Executive to ensure that their respective countries are set on the paths of peace, security and sustainability.
He urged them to commit themselves to holding governments of their countries to contain corruption, eliminate waste, ignorance and greed, which is the smooth road to building fair, just and prosperous societies.
The Ghanaian Speaker also entreated the participants and the world at large to be mindful of the need to co-exist stating “we must therefore, not only learn to co-exist in peace, but must also work to promote inclusive growth and development by consciously working to prop up the development of the least developed nations”
He mentioned that underdevelopment and poverty are some of the main drivers of intolerance evidenced in xenophobia, terrorism and conflicts.
About 2,700 delegates drawn from more than 179 countries across the globe have gathered in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
