The Vice President of the National House of Chiefs, Naa Pouwele Karbo III, has called on religious leaders in the Upper West Region to tolerate one another and work together with the chieftaincy institution.

He said this at a stakeholder consultative workshop on the proposed national policy on religion championed by the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs.

“The name of our ministry is Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs. There are two clear strands; the chieftaincy side and the religious affairs side.

It is my opinion that while the chieftaincy side is well captured in terms of policy, legislation and everything, the religious affairs side at the moment lacks policy clarity and coherence,” Naa Karbo added.

The workshop was to solicit the inputs and recommendations of the stakeholders towards developing an inclusive policy in the interest of the general populace.

According to Naa Karbo, who is the Paramount Chief of Lawra Traditional Area, chieftaincy and religion are intertwined and need to work together.

The Representative of the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs at the workshop, Dr Daliwuro Zakari said the faith-based organizations are important for the development of the country but there are still some challenges within the faith-based organizations which need to be addressed.

Dr Zakaria further explained that the constitutionally guaranteed right to religion and its beliefs are not absolute and may be subjected to limitation.

The Programs Analyst for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Jude Domosie, said religious leaders are always the first point of contact for the youth when they are vulnerable.

He also called on policymakers to always think about the youth when designing policies.