Concern about divisions in Ghana

Tamale, Nov. 20, GNA - The Right-Reverend Yaw Frimpong-Manso, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, has expressed concern about the gradual political partisanship and ethnocentric groupings in the country.

"Our nation is gradually being divided on political partisanship and ethnocentric groupings, a division which seems to be a dangerous trap that we are setting for ourselves," he said.

Rt-Rev Frimpong-Manso explained that the current trends of bitter chieftaincy disputes, political partisanship and ethnocentrism, which had led to rancour, would not help the nation, more especially, with the involvement of the youth in such divisive tendencies. He was addressing a large congregation of Presbyterian faithful to mark the 50th anniversary of the Northern Presbytery of the Church in Tamale on Sunday.

The anniversary was on the theme: "Presbyterian Church of Ghana, 50 years of ministry in Northern Ghana".

Rt-Rev Frimpong-Manso said the anniversary was being celebrated at a time when the people, the Church and the nation were battling for answers to the numerous problems that had plagued the Ghanaian society. He tasked the Church to take up the challenge by using the gospel to change the people for the good of the country, saying that the Church must provide every opportunity for every individual in the society to transform.

"It is sad that most of our local churches often go astray in performing this duty. They become obsessed with political agenda, either on the right or the left".

The Moderator reminded the Presbyterian faithful that Christ came to transform society not through political action but with his life. "His plan was to change society by transforming the individuals in that society by giving them a new heart, a new spirit and a new orientation and this is why your presbytery must take the Great Commission seriously to let the gospel have a great impact on the lives of the people".

Mr William Ofori Boafo, Deputy Minister of Defence, said the Northern Presbytery had provided health, educational and agricultural institutions for the people, which had facilitated development and growth despite disruptive events in some parts of the three Northern Regions.

Mr Boafo said these developments had not only uplifted the holistic needs of the people but had also enhanced the manpower base and human resources development of these regions.

He urged the Church to help in eradicating poverty, ignorance and squalor among the people and instil strong morals and disciplines in them.

The Deputy Defence Minister urged the Church to use its evangelistic work to promote and sustain peace, security, stability, development and growth in the communities.

"It is sad that even though Ghana can boast of many Christians, we still continue to experience social vices such as corruption, ethnic conflicts, armed robbery, moral decadence and indiscipline, indicating that our evangelistic work has not had the desired impact", he said.

Mr Boafo appealed to the Church to take advantage of government's programmes such as the National Health Insurance Scheme, the Millennium Challenge Account and the Poverty Reduction Programme to impact effectively on the lives of the people of Northern Ghana.