The Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has called on churches to compel politicians to focus on finding solutions to the problems of the country and not to indulge in politics of insults and propaganda.
He said politicians must let politics shine a light on what they did and not to try to cover things up in darkness.
Dr Bawumia said this when he addressed the opening of the 46th session of the General Council Meetings of the Church of Pentecost at the Pentecost Convention Centre at Gomoa Fetteh in the Central Region yesterday, 3/05/2023.
“When you see a politician trying to talk, demand data to support what they are saying, so let us focus on light, let us focus on data, let us eschew insults and propaganda, and let us focus on solving problems that face this country on an everyday basis,” he said.
He endorsed an upcoming meeting between the Church of Pentecost and politicians in the country which, he said, had been scheduled to take place from June 14 to 16, 2023, and commended the church for the “bold initiative”.
Electronic system taxis
The Vice-President also used the occasion to give a hint that commercial taxi drivers, particularly in the Greater Accra Region, would be hooked onto a digital system in the coming months to enable them to operate in similar fashion like the other electronic system-based taxis.
“We will be able to place all our taxis, at least in Greater Accra, to start with, all in an Uber-like platform, and you will be able to call for their services just like the Uber and other electronic taxis. It is a practical solution to a practical problem,” he said, adding that “those are the sort of things we as politicians should be focusing on.”
The Vice-President also announced that the public and private sector transport system would soon go on a “tap and go” system to be accessed with oyster cards by the end of this year.
Conference
The three-day meeting, which is being attended by delegates from the Church of Pentecost from across the country and abroad, is on the theme: “Repositioning the local church for maximum impact in the nations”.
The meeting is the highest decision-making body of the church, and would, as part of its deliberations, witness the election of a General Secretary, Chairman and four other executive members to steer the affairs of the church in Ghana for the next five years.
Dr Bawumia underscored the need for good leadership if the country was to advance as a nation.
He noted that “with the Lord at the centre of everything, it is possible for us to make a maximum impact on our nation with the right leadership”.
Dr Bawumia said the Church of Pentecost provided the country with the needed example that, with good leadership, Ghana had what it would take to manage its affairs and make the country the envy of many.
Commendation
While commending the church and its leadership for its commitment and dedication to both the church and national development over the years, Dr Bawumia said the flock of the church had been blessed with very good leaders.
He catalogued a number of projects and initiatives by the Church of Pentecost, particularly, during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the nation received significant relief from the church.
Dr Bawumia said it was instructive that the church had done all these as an indigenous organisation with no foreign or external support.