Stop worshipping people in power, they’re your servants – GBA president

President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Anthony Forson, says the general public should quit what he described as “worshipping” those in authority.

He said the general public should rather charge those authorities to work in accordance with the power given them and not only lead but serve.

“One thing that I should say without missing words is that people worship people in power, we put them there, and that should stop,” he said on Wednesday.

“We pay them, and that thinking should stop. But, you know, when you are in power, you are actually a servant; the Bible says that the greatest among you should be the servant,” he stressed.

Speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show, Mr Forson said as citizens, “we should pray that God will let them know that they are servants of the people.”

The lawyer was commenting on calls from a section of the public to have the country’s constitution scrapped or amended to effect certain changes.

He said the constitution should be amended to suit the current needs of the people but stressed that the responsibility to the effect that change lies in the hands of the populace.

“As for the question of development, I believe it beholds on all of us to put every government on its toes; it’s all of us our duty.

“The president during his swearing-in charged all of us to be citizens and not spectators, so it behoves on all of us not to keep quiet,” he noted.

He, however, stated that developmental issues could be addressed through the district assemblies, the Municipal Chief Executives, among others.

The GBA president observed that leaders may not see themselves as servants because “we think they are not servants, but if we make them know that they are servants, they will behave like servants.”

According to him, his leadership role in the Bar Association has granted him the opportunity to understand that he is a servant “and maybe lucky because we are not paid, it makes you think better.”

Mr Forson also spoke about the upcoming Bar Conference starting from September 13 at the Fountain Gate Chapel in Bolga, where new leaders will be elected.

The conference is themed on ‘The mobilisation of taxation for national development: role of the lawyer.’