PRESIDENT MILLS PRAISES PRESBY CHURCH (PAGE 20)

THE President, Professor John Evans Atta Mills, has expressed the government’s gratitude to the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) for its immense contributions to the development of education and improvement in the social sector.
President Atta Mills’s gratitude to the PCG was contained in an address read on his behalf by the Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, Mr Stephen Amoanor Kwao, at the opening ceremony for the ninth General Assembly of the PCG at Abetifi-Kwahu in the Eastern Region at the weekend.
In all, 500 delegates from the 14 presbyteries in the country, as well as others from different parts of the world, including the United States, Canada and Britain, were attending the six-day conference.
The conference, on the theme: “Let us rise up and build”, was to deliberate on various issues affecting both the PCG and society as a whole.
According to the President, the PCG had since its establishment in the country 181 years ago, set up numerous schools from the kindergarten to the tertiary level, as well as hospitals in different parts of the country, which had tremendously improved education and social services.
President Atta Mills stated that PCG’s contributions to the educational and social sectors had enhanced the living standards of the people, especially the poor.
He said in addition to the provision of amenities and services, the government would in the coming years commit itself to the development of pragmatic pro-poor programmes that would help improve the well-being of the ordinary Ghanaian.
To ensure that more social amenities would be made available for the people, President Mills gave the assurance that all good programmes initiated by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration would be continued.
“The PCG has since its establishment 181 years ago, built schools at all levels of education as well as hospitals some of which are the Presbyterian Colleges of Education at Akropong-Akuapem and Abetifi, and health institutions such as the Akuse and Nsawam hospitals as well as the Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital at Mampong-Akuapem, and I commend you for the provision of these amenities which have improved the lot of Ghanaians,” President Mills said.
To ensure that the PCG would be financially empowered to continue to provide such amenities, he advised it to enter into strategic investments in areas such as fruit processing, supermarkets and fuel filling stations.
He appealed to the church to help address issues like unemployment, communal conflicts, poverty and disunity.
President Atta Mills also expressed the government’s worry about the growing trend of disorder in churches in recent times, citing issues like occultism, tribalism, exploitation, corruption, infighting, fornication, adultery and other forms of indiscipline as typical examples.
He, therefore, appealed to the leadership of the various churches to address them.
The church, the President stated, must also help stamp out cyberfraud (sakawa), armed robbery, dealing in narcotic drugs and other forms of deviance.
President Mills noted with regret the level of indebtedness of the district assemblies to contractors due to corruption and mismanagement.
He stated that the government would not witch-hunt its political opponents, but would ensure that they accounted for their stewardship, adding that his administration would pursue accountability, probity and transparency.
The Moderator of the General Assembly of the PCG, Rt. Rev. Dr Yaw Frimpong-Manso, said although the PCG had done a lot in terms of provision of social amenities such as schools and hospitals to improve the physical well-being of the people, as well as catering for their spiritual needs, a lot remained to be accomplished.
He particularly mentioned the three northern regions which lacked much development, and said the PCG would initiate a number of programmes to reach out to such regions to win more souls for Christ.
The moderator’s address, which was contained in a 23-page document with numerous Biblical quotations that was accepted as a working document for the church, also highlighted on various issues affecting both the Church and the country, especially the political atmosphere.
The document also included the church’s investment in the hospitality industry, evangelism, national development, education and other social services, all of which would be supported with the Presbyterian Foundation that had so far yielded GH¢910,410 and the church’s Millennium Development Fund which had also netted GH¢74,987.27.
Rt. Rev. Frempong-Manso, who said his term of office as moderator would come to an end next year, was hopeful that God would guide the PCG to elect a successor to take over the mantle from him.