Sekyere Hemang (W/R), May 4, GNA 97 The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Mpohor Wassa East District, Mr Anthony Bassaw has decried the attitude of some chiefs, clergymen and opinion leaders, who plead on behalf of individuals, accused of committing crimes. He said his office is often inundated with such highly respected personalities, pleading on behalf of church members, close relatives and friends, who had committed various offences.

Mr Bassaw was speaking at a district launch of this year's National Constitutional Week celebration in Sekyere-Hemang, in the Mpohor Wassa East District of the Western Region. He noted that, if such negative trend is not checked, unscrupulous individuals would continue perpetrating evil against innocent people in the society without being punished. The DCE emphasized the need for society to report perpetrators of crime to the security agencies for them to face the full rigours of the law, adding that, the evil doers must not be shielded in any way; they should be exposed and punished severely to serve as deterrent to others.

Mr Bassaw said the stance taken by some personalities to always plead for evil doers would not allow for the rule of law and good governance and asked all Ghanaians to expose such people for the law to take its course.

"As good citizens we must insist on our fundamental human rights and report crimes meted out to innocent and vulnerable people in the society, in this way, Ghana will continue bearing the torch of being the beacon of democracy on the African continent and not just gimmicks and rhetoric", he stressed.

Mr Bassaw emphasized that, the 1992 constitution guarantees freedom of expression and urged everyone to participate in the governance process and desist from insulting and maligning people He said insults would 93not add anything to our democracy but rather conflicts and mayhem, as happened in other warring countries on the continent.

The Mpohor Wassa District Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Mr John Nyonator said effective participation of citizens in all levels of governance is crucial to the sustenance of Ghana's democracy and urged all to participate in national exercises.

He said democracy is not all about voting but ensuring accountability, justice, decentralization, good governance and the rule of law, and reiterated the need to be careful with 93our utterances in order not to go the way of other warring African countries".