Speak against ills in society – Christian Council

 The Chairman of the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) Rt. Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Martey, has charged church leaders to boldly and constructively speak against the ills in our society.

According to him, church leaders should actively engage in public advocacy and education on national issues that affects the livelihoods of Ghanaians.

Rev. Martey, who is also the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, made the call at the 2015 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Christian Council of Ghana which took place at the Rev. Peter Kwei Dagadu Memorial Methodist Church in Osu, Accra.

“In the Bible, great people like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Nehemiah, Esther and, above all, our Lord Jesus Christ Himself were all advocates. So, if our Master Jesus engaged in constructive advocacy, even at the peril of His life, why have some Christian leaders decided to keep quiet and be passive about issues that affect the livelihoods of the people we serve?

Yes, some people will insult you; call you all sorts of names; and tag you to some of the political parties when you criticise constructively or speak on an issue. However, do not be afraid of such things, just be sure you are objective and well informed about the issues you are talking about” he admonished church leaders.

Rev. Martey said, churches and their leaders should take keen interest in researching on national issues and offer alternative policy options and guidance in the management of our nation.

Quoting Proverbs 31:8-9 to support his call, he stated that, church leaders should show interest in the development of our dear nation and influence the change Ghanaians want to see.

He also used the occasion to call on bigger and healthier churches within the Council to support small and struggling churches to thrive.

According to him, strong and well established churches have an obligation to offer support and mentorship to churches which are challenged and are at the verge of collapse.

“Many of our member churches are going through challenges, and if we do not go to their aid, they will cease to exist. As we speak now, some of our member churches are at the point of collapse, because they are in distress and we have over the years neglected them to their fate,” he lamented.

He continued that, churches such as the Presbyterian Church of Ghana; Methodist Church Ghana; E.P. Church, Ghana; Anglican Church; Ghana Baptist Convention, A.M.E. Zion and others should position themselves to offer mentorship and support to the weaker ones.

“Stronger churches can support weaker ones by giving them opportunity to study at their Seminaries and also second some of their ministers, pastors and priests to those churches. We should also be able to provide them with financial support when need be. Let us not forget that Biblical truism that ‘there is more blessing in giving than in receiving’” he stated.

The CCG Chairman further tasked the General Secretary and his team to request for situational reports from member churches and develop a system to facilitate the strengthening of weaker members by the stronger ones.

The 2015 AGM of the Council renewed the tenure of Prof. Martey for an additional one year and also appointed Rev. Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, Executive President of Ghana Baptist Convention and Mr. Christian Sottie, Vice President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana as Vice Chairman and Honorary Treasurer respectively.

4 Ghanaian deaths caused by suffocation, not attacks Kwesi Ahwoi says

 Four Ghanaians who died in a salon at Heibron in South Africa’s Free Town province, got asphyxiated, according to a police report.

Ghana’s Ambassador to South Africa, Mr. Kwesi Ahwoi, in an interview revealed that the four died from inhalation of carbon monoxide fumes from a generator they were using during a power cut situation {known in Ghana as ‘dumsor’}.

“…. Apparently, they lived in their salon and that there was “dumsor” and so they put on their generator in the room that they slept.

“Unfortunately for them, they inhaled the carbon monoxide fumes from the generator and, therefore, lost their lives through what medical terms is called asphyxiation,” Mr Ahwoi added.

The four deceased include a man, two women and a baby. There were fears they may have died from the unfettered xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

Mr Ahwoi said Ghana’s mission has been able to identify the four. “…The names that we have are G. Owusu, born in Nyamebekyere, on April 1, 1984; Cynthia Awon is the wife: she was born in Huni Valley; their 2-weeks-old daughter, she was born in April 2015, Emmanuella Owusu and their relative Charlotte Osei-Tutu, who was born in Fomena, on November 26, 1986.”

Mr. Ahwoi added that an autopsy will be carried out on the four bodies later on Monday.

According to him, Heibron has not experienced any xenophobic attack so far.

Dumsor is not a political weapon, it’s about our survival - Nana Addo

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has expressed disappointment over comments by his political opponents that, the NPP is constantly complaining about the energy crisis to win political points, and that they will be “weaponless” when the crisis is over.

According Nana Addo, the devastating effects of the energy crisis, known popularly as “dumsor,” go beyond opposition or government talk, and that, it is at the heart of Ghana’s survival, especially for the citizenry and businesses.

The 2016 presidential candidate of the NPP wondered why “government apologists are saying that after the government resolves the dumsor crisis, we as opposition people, will have nothing to talk about.”

“I am astonished by this proposition,” Nana Addo said, adding that dumsor “is not a campaign weapon. It borders on the very survival of our country.”

Addressing students of the University of Cape Coast on Saturday, Nana Addo referred to the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research’s (ISSER) recent report which put the cost of “dumsor” to the economy for 2014 alone to close to GHC1 billion.

Nana Akufo-Addo reiterated ISSER’s position that if Ghana has been in the crisis since 2012, “then we are talking about a national loss of some GHC4 billion.”

He noted that “today, industries are folding up, workers are being retrenched, livelihoods are being lost, people are dying needlessly in our hospitals, our economy is in serious decline, all of which add up to the ravages of poverty and disease. These are not matters about which a nation can recover with the wave of a hand or with the resolution of the crisis of dumsor.”

“How does the resolution of the crisis of dumsor resurrect the many Ghanaians who have lost their lives in hospitals across the country? How does the resolution of the crisis of “dumsor” restore the livelihoods of the thousands of workers who have lost their jobs? How does the resolution of the crisis of “dumsor” restore the loss of productivity over the past three years?” Nana Addo asked.

He continued, “I know of a group of investors who have their factories around the Achimota Brewery, and who manufacture plastic products. They have closed shop and are leaving for Ethiopia. There are many, many such stories. Today, investor confidence in our country is at an all- time low. The GHC4 billion that this nation has lost to the crisis of dumsor can per the calculation of this government build about 60 senior high schools.”

The NPP flagbearer also recounted the suggestion made by the Director General of Ghana Health Services, Dr. Ebenezer Appiah-Denkyira, to health facilities to charge patients an extra amount of money to take care of the cost of dumsor.

“Already the health insurance scheme which the NPP government under President Kufuor introduced has collapsed and to think that we will have to pay extra to take care of “dumsor” is “unimaginable,” he added.