President should give reasons for his actions - Presby Church

Accra, Sept. 18, GNA - The Presbyterian Church of Ghana on Thursday appealed to President John Agyekum Kufour to give adequate explanation to critical decisions he takes in order to deepen the country's democratic process.

A communique issued by the church after its Eighth General Assembly said although such explanatory statement would not necessarily prevent controversy, they were likely to reduce the level of emotions often stirred up such acts and also limit the wild aspersions on the integrity of office holders.

The church commended the government for its efforts in bringing peace to some conflicts zones in the North, and condemned tribal strife which had engulfed the area especially Buipe, Bunkprugu and Bawku and the practice of instant justice meted out to some alleged criminal.

According to the communiqu=E9 the church wanted the government to ensure that Asset Declaration exercises were organised for government officials before and after they had taken public office.

The church pledged its support to the electoral process and called for the establishment of appropriate procedure to routinely register all persons who attained the age of 18 in election years to avoid backlog. It also appealed to the candidates to accept results as declared by the Electoral Commission and seek redress from the appropriate quarters if in doubt.

In the communiqu=E9, the church commended the government for the steady growth of the economy over the past eight years as a result of the improved economic and financial management based on prudent policies.

"The reported growth of Gross Domestic Product from 3.7 per cent in 2000 to almost 6.5 per cent in 2007, improved external accounts balances and relatively stable exchange rate of the Ghana Cedi as against major currencies are all pointers to healthy economic prospects in the future."

While commending the government for the National Youth Employment Programme, the church called for faster expansion on the range of the core programmes and activities coupled with improved management structure and procedures.

The church praised the government for the implementation of the New Education Reforms Programme and its decision to reintroduce the teaching of Religious and Moral Education in basic schools.