“You should join political parties, take part in voting, seek key positions in political parties, in the government, and district assemblies. If you refuse to vote, and show indifference to political issues, others will vote and take decisions which will affect you for good or ill,” he said.
Tackle corruption
Most Rev. Osei-Bonsu, who is also the Supreme Spiritual Leader of the Order, descended heavily on the level of corruption in all spheres of the Ghanaian society and charged members of the Order to tackle the canker.
“If there is corruption, it is largely because people, including Marshallans, are not acting with integrity wherever they are. If people were guided in their consciences by integrity and honesty, corruption will drastically reduce, and our world will be a better place than it is today,” he said.
While urging members of the Order to champion the cause of justice, he also urged them to be concerned about social issues and try to liberate themselves and others in the society who lived in the bondage of ignorance, superstition and unnecessary fears and traditional customs that oppress people.
Programmes line up
The Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, His Grace Gabriel Charles Palmer-Buckle, who launched the anniversary, urged members of the Order to protect the sanctity of marriage.
The Archbishop urged married Christians to proclaim the good news of marriage saying,”it is time for married couples to take up the gospel of the family and proclaim marriage as a vocation.”
He commended the Order for its works over the last 90 years.
Use social media to engage the youth
The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, who represented President John Mahama, commended the group for its social protection role over the years.
She urged the Order to marshal forces around the theme of the celebrations “The Marshallan and the New Evangelisation for the
Transmission of the Faith” to overcome the challenge of how to sustain and increase the interests of the younger generation in the group while effectively blending the youth dynamism with conservation of the older generation.
“You should make effective use of social media and modern ICT tools to engage more proactively with the youth,” she added.
Order to establish microfinance
The Supreme Knight of the Order, Sir Kt Ernest Amoako-Arhen, announced that the group was in the process of establishing a financial institution to be known as Fraternity Microfinance Company.
That aside, he said, the Order is also currently setting up a 30-acre rubber plantation at Samanhu, near Tarkwa in the Western Region.
