President John Evans Atta Mills has confessed that the current economic conditions in the country is not as smooth as was expected by his government, and called on religious bodies to pray constantly for government to come up with solutions to the problems confronting the nation.

The President acknowledged the positive role played by the church in the 2008 general elections which peacefully brought the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to power and urged the church not to relent on their prayers to help change the economic difficulties confronting the country, because “things are not going the way we thought it would”. President Mills made the confession at a thanksgiving service to climax the 68th synod of the Global Evangelical Church in Ho, last Sunday. The Synod was themed: “Faithful Stewardship - the Key to Divine Blessing”.

The President observed that his government is under pressure and, therefore, pleaded with religious bodies in the country to offer persistent prayers for his government to achieve her development targets. He noted that his government is made up of human beings and there was nothing they could do without God’s intervention. He however assured that efforts would be made through God’s guidance to fulfill the promises he made to the people, in order to make life a little more comfortable for them, adding that the way religious bodies prayed for peaceful elections, they should still continue praying for the economic stability of the country.

President Mills noted that since Ghanaians have chosen the path of democracy, they should at all times be guided by its tenets in order to ensure peace, which is a prerequisite for development. He prayed to God that members of his government would not steal state money to enrich themselves at the expense of the people. The Moderator of the Global Evangelical Church, Rt. Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Komla Gbordzoe noted that the sins of men that manifested since creation were still being exhibited in diverse forms such as greed, selfishness and armed robbery among others, which he noted was making life more difficult for the human generation.

The Moderator pointed out that obedience and faithfulness were vital to ensuring good stewardship, which the man of God said was difficult to find in the lives of people who found themselves in leadership positions. He pledged the support of the church at all times, through prayers for stable governance of the country. A communiqué issued expressed joy about the decision by government to continue with social intervention programmes embarked upon by the previous NPP administration, and stressed the need for public office holders in the new government to practice faithful stewardship, so as to ensure that the collective efforts of Ghanaians would bring about prosperity.

It also urged government to enact a law on political transition in the country to avoid confusion and acrimony during political transitions. The communiqué also urged the Christian community to intensify their prayer activities for God’s guidance for the new administration to improve on the socio economic life of the people. The communiqué called on educational authorities and the government to engage all the political parties, parents and other stakeholders in education to build consensus and establish an acceptable educational system, which would guarantee proper planning and learning in schools. It also expressed concern about the practice of occultism and other satanic practices among the youth to get rich quick, which is gradually engulfing the society, noting that authorities at the various Ministries should adopt strategies to address the problem.