Leaders of two Christian bodies have asked pastors in the country to identify with the Media Coalition Against Galamsey and use their pulpits to educate the public on the menace of the practice.
They also called on Christians in the country to pray and commit themselves to the preservation of the environment and other natural resources at all times.
The two bodies, the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) and the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC), made the call in a communique jointly issued at the end of their annual joint meeting held in Accra last Wednesday.
The communique was jointly signed by Rev. Dr Ernest Adu-Gyamfi and Rev. Dr Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, Chairman and General Secretary of the CCG and Most Rev. Philip Naameh and Rev. Fr. Lazarus Anondee, President and Secretary General of the GCBC.
The meeting enabled the senior clergymen to pray for the country and discuss issues of interest both to the church and the nation as a whole.
Sustaining the galamsey campaign
“We have observed with satisfaction the efforts of His Excellency the President of the Republic and his government to protect our water bodies, farm lands, forest reserves etc. and their commitment to end illegal mining in the country.
“This menace is destroying the lives of ordinary Ghanaians, livestock and food stuff. Many of our youth have also abandoned the classroom leading to increase in illiteracy in the affected areas.
“We commend the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, the Media Coalition, Religious Bodies, Traditional Leaders, Security Agencies and all who have committed themselves to the fight against illegal mining in the nation,” the two bodies said in the communique.
The communique called on government to intensify its crusade the against galamsey in order to sustain our natural resources and remain non-partisan, adding, “government should make great efforts to ensure that major river bodies like the Birim, Prah, Ankobra, Densu etc. will be drinkable again.”
NHIS
On the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the communique noted with concern that the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) owed the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) hospitals over GH¢ 200 million.
It said over the years, several efforts had been made by CHAG to reclaim the money but to no avail.
“Our hospitals take loans from banks to run and pay interests. Moreover, CHAG has made a commitment that staff members in our hospitals and clinics do not use strike as a means of negotiation and we want the government to appreciate these efforts we are making and act accordingly,” the communique said.
It urged the government to roll out, as a matter of urgency, a programme to pay all arrears owed the CHAG hospitals to ensure that churches were able to run their hospitals and clinics.
Free SHS
Referring to the free senior high school policy, the communique stated, “We have observed with joy government’s efforts to roll out the policy on Free SHS education.
“We welcome this idea as a pro-poor programme that will go a long way to ensure that most of our young people have access to, at least, senior high secondary education level .
“We, therefore, call on government to work on the sustainability and quality of the free SHS policy.
“As we congratulate government on this matter, we wish to reiterate our call for a deeper Church-State partnership in education for the churches to own their schools and have increased supervision and oversight responsibilities,” the communique said.
It said such a partnership would afford the churches the opportunity to have better involvement in the management of the schools and uphold the moral standards of education, which had become a worry to many a Ghanaian.
Attitudinal change
On attitudinal change, the communique said the two bodies had observed with discomfort the levels of public indiscipline in the country.
“The avoidable killings on our roads, open defecation resulting in diseases like cholera and typhoid, disregard for the rule of law, disregard for environmental cleanliness, lateness to work, lack of maintenance of public property, corruption etc. are examples of such worrying attitudes,” it said.
It, therefore, urged Christians to bring to bear their faith values on public service by living lives worthy of their calling, urging the citizens to cherish values such as hard work, honesty, integrity, and respect for the rule of law.
“We call on the government to roll out a programme to facilitate attitudinal change, which the CCG and the GCBC will be ready to support.
“A typical example is the need to establish accessible counselling units in our various institutions,” the communique proposed.
Christian unity
The communique said the two bodies observed with concern that the frontline of the church, as a national family, was becoming weaker because “we have not paid adequate attention to the unity of the National Church.
“ We are, therefore, calling on all churches to prayerfully embrace the spirit of ecumenism and foster closer relationships with neighbouring churches,” it said.
The communique urged all churches not to allow their differences to divide them, since they were bigger than their differences, “but see ourselves as one people with one God, one faith and one Bible.”
2016 elections
The communique congratulated all Ghanaians on the peaceful manner they conducted themselves before, during and after the 2016 general election.
We congratulate the security agencies, the Electoral Commission, religious organisations, traditional leaders, the media, civil society organisations, political parties and all stakeholders on the various roles they played to ensure the peaceful elections and smooth transition of power from one political party to another.
“We also want to thank the foreign missions and the many people who prayed for the nation during the electioneering period.
“We, however, observed with worry pockets of violence, especially from some supporters of the ruling political party, during and after the period of the transition that give cause for concern. The destruction of state property, the unlawful seizure of government properties and most alarmingly, the attack on the rule of law and democracy are issues that call for serious attention,” the communique noted.
It is, therefore, calling on all political parties, especially the party in power, to uphold the rule of law at all times in order to grow our democracy.
Conclusion
The communique concluded with the assurance that the two bodies would continue their public education, Christian advocacy ministry, and prayers for peace, harmony, and justice in the country, adding that in so doing, they would continue to be non-partisan and be guided by the principles of the Holy Bible.
Writer’s Email: severious.dery@graphic.com.gh