Dr Kwaku Agyemang-Mensah, Ashanti Regional Minister, has
urged the youth to be vigilant and resist any attempt by someone or
group of persons to engage in electoral violence as the nation
prepares for the December 7th polls.
The youth, he said, were likely to be targeted by
self-seeking politicians to foment trouble in the run up to the
December general elections and warned that this could be
counterproductive to the sustenance of peace in the
country.
He reminded them of their constitutional mandate to use their
energies, expertise and skills for productive ventures, saying it
was the responsibility of the Ghanaian youth not to repeat the
mistakes of other war-torn African countries.
Dr. Agyemang-Mensah, who was addressing a peace rally at the
Jubilee Park in Kumasi on Sunday cited the untold hardships and
calamities that befell some youth who engaged in such
violence.
The rally was organized by the Ashanti Regional Cadet Corps
and had in attendance about 5,000 pupils and students drawn from 75
schools.
It aimed at creating awareness about the role of the youth in
ensuring incident-free elections.
“The Youth as Tools for Peaceful Elections” was the
theme.
The Minister called for regular sensitization workshops and
educational programmes to create the awareness for peaceful
polls.
Dr. Agyemang-Mensah urged the Cadet Corps to liaise with
other related organizations with the view to embarking on outreach
programmes to demonstrate to the people the negative effects
inherent in electoral violence.
Mr. Felix Atingyena, the Regional Cadet Commander, enumerated
the significance of the concept of cadet in nation building and
noted that it helped in moulding the youth into responsible
adults.
