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Opinions of Wednesday, 20 March 2013

Columnist: Sarpong, Justice

Pres. Mahama, Ghana Is Not A Travel Agency

It seems to me President Mahama is more interested in running a Travel Agency company than administering a country. How a country like Ghana with its myriad of problems can find time to facilitate the itinerary of fake Pastors sojourn to Israel is beyond me. President Mahama waded into the controversy surrounding the two million dollar bonanza to some Pastors to go to Israel and muddied the water more by temporizing in malarkeys. He would have been better served by keeping mute rather than the hogwash he served Ghanaians.

"John Dramani Mahama has told the pastors selected for the government-facilitated pilgrimage to Israel that government is ready to abandon the trip if the pastors decline the offer.In a meeting on Tuesday with the pastors, President Mahama said government secured private sponsorship for the pastors pilgrimage to Isreal, according to him the pilgrimage is not financed by government, “government is playing only a facilitator role".

What a 'hard working President'. With the numerous problems facing this administration and Ghana, Mahama has time from his 'busy' schedule to act as a Travel Agent for some selected Pastors to go to Isreal, what a madcap we have for a President. What is the government facilitating that these Pastors with their own Organizations can't do they need Mahama and his bumbling administration to do for them? Is Mahama going to be a Visa Contractor for the Pastors? Is there any need for Government to facilitate anything for these swindlers who exploit their congregations daily for hundreds of millions of cedis daily. Who are the so called private sponsors? I guess Woyome is back in the humanitarian business after his assets including his Bank accounts were "de-frozen". I guess Woyome has not finished spending the $35 million given to him by his Ndc masters to hold for paying bribes.

What is the purpose of this pilgrimage? Unlike the Moslem religion where the Koran extorts its believers to embark on a pilgrimage to Mecca in one's lifetime, the christianity religion does not ask its adherents to embark on any pilgrimage to anywhere on Earth. As a matter of fact, the Bible says God is everywhere and wherever two or three people meet to pray, God will be with them so why this nonsense about the need to send Pastors to Israel to pray for the nation and Mahama? The government should come out and tell us the private sponsors who are going to foot the bill of this sight seeing tour of Israel by Ndc backed Pastors or this nonsense about philantropists footing this bill can be chalked to prolepsis.

Any Pastor who takes part by accepting this surfeit to go to Israel will homologate the belief that some of these Pastors are in the pastoral business for their own selfish interest. How any man of God in Ghana at present time when ordinary citizens cannot even afford two square meals a day can accept a largesse as much as ten thousand dollars per person to go to Israel just for sightseeing as Bishop Benny Wood of Concerned Clergy Association of Ghana intimated will show the lucullan lifestyle these Pastors are living. No Clergy with fear in God and serving him with humility will accept this "NOKO FIO" just to sing the praises of this administration when the People are suffering. Thanks to the Catholic Church for refusing to be bought with this blood money.

"Spokesperson for the Concerned Clergy Association of Ghana, Bishop Prince Benny Wood says the 'controversial' sponsored pilgrimage to Israel is for sight seeing and not to pray for the nation or the president as is being speculated.According to him, the pilgrimage is meant to expose the clergy to the historical antecedents of Christianity, enhance their spirituality and to experience a personal transformation of their faith."

If these Pastors have to go to Israel to enhance their spirituality and experience personal transformations, then what they have been pontificating and sermonizing to their congregants in tongues were pyscho babbles they themselves were not fortified enough to believe and was purely done to seperate their Parishioners from their hard earned monies. The mugwump President Mahama was prevaricating when he told the Pastors who trooped to the Flagstaff house to pick up their bribe packages that the government was not footing the bill of this mouth watering appeasement. Anyway how can you blame these Pastors when Chiefs were given 4x4 wheel trucks and the Imams received $80,000 vehicles from this clueless President who cannot even provide basic amenities like water and electricity but can provide hundreds of thousands of laptops to Ghanaian students and Ndc foot soldiers without first thinking how the laptops can be put to use without aedequate supply of electricity.

The citizens of Ghana don't have the intestinal fortitude anymore to stomach the lies of the Ndc administration that have used the so called private sponsors mantra to pay bribes to its supporters in the form of sending them twice to South Africa in 2010 for the world cup and 2013 to the AFCON tournament to watch soccer matches when children school under trees and the citizens cannot access health care because the NHIS which Sylvester Mensah, the CEO of this agency said is better than the ones in UK and USA has no money to pay its service providers.

Whether it is two million dollars or six hundred thousand dollars, Ghana cannot afford to splash its limited financial resources on frivolous nonsense by Mahama and his thieving brigade. Instead of wasting time 'facilitating travelling plans for fake Pastors, they can do themselves a lot of good by declaring their assets as mandated by the constitution. Ghana is not a serious country because if it was, most of these Politicians will be languishing in jails including Mahama for failing to declare their assets.

Justice Sarpong

(CARDINAL of TRUTH)