COMMUNIQUE

ISSUED BY THE CHRISTIAN COUNCIL OF GHANA (CCG) ON FRIDAY JANUARY 24, 2020

Greetings

Dearly Beloved citizens of our dear nation Ghana, receive warm greetings from the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Preamble

We, the Heads of Churches and Executive Committee (ExCo) of the Christian Council of Ghana held our Retreat in Teiman, Accra from 22nd January -24th January, 2020. We prayed for Christian unity and the wellbeing of the country and reflected on the theme: “A lone voice crying in the wilderness” (Isaiah 40:3). In our retreat, we discussed issues of both Church and National interests. We deem it appropriate as Christian leaders to speak to and bring the following issues to the attention of the government and people of Ghana, especially to members of our Church communities.

CHURCH UNITY

We have observed that the phenomenon of denominationalism has crippled the Church’s united front. We are not against denominationalism because our unity is stronger when we recognize our diversity. However, we believe that for the common good of Christianity in our nation, we ought to prioritize the interest of church unity and strengthen our common good. We therefore urge Church leaders to promote ecumenical relations among their members and foster closer working relationship with other denominations.

RELIGIOUS HARMONY

Ghana is a Christian majority nation but with many other religious beliefs. We the CCG pledge to work and live in harmony with all religious groups in the nation to ensure that we build a formidable Ghana that is safe and economically viable. We therefore appeal to all religious leaders not to allow any person or group of people to use any means to destroy the harmonious religious front in the country. We also advise that religious leaders go about their evangelistic activities and worship services without being abusive towards other religions.

2020 GENERAL ELECTIONS

1. New Voters’ Register

We have followed with much interest the discussions on the decision by the Electoral Commission to compile a new biometric voters’ register. We support the proposal of the eminent group of people advising the Electoral Commission that a national consensus should be built on the matter of the new register. We urge all stakeholders to make objective and constructive inputs into the discussions.

2. Vigilantism

We are pleased to know that by the efforts of the government and with the cooperation of the political parties, appropriate legislation has been promulgated to outlaw political vigilantism in the country. We recognize the role of the Peace Council in this regard and appeal to all stakeholders to adhere to any roadmap given. It is our hope that there will be political will and public commitment to enforce the law.

3. Election Campaigns

We wish to admonish that electioneering campaigns in the run up to the 2020 elections should be free of insults and vindictiveness. The debates on the elections should be issue based and focused on the development agenda the candidates have for the nation. We urge all stakeholders to avoid statements that would incite ethnic or religious violence. We also appeal to media houses to educate electorates and encourage peace across the nation before, during and after the elections.

EDUCATION

1. Education Reforms

One of the major problems Ghana has faced in education is politicization of our educational system. Almost all educational reforms in this country have been politically motivated. We believe that if we do not bring an end to this practice, our education will continue to lack the quality that we desire. We therefore call for a national dialogue on educational reforms from the kindergarten level to the tertiary level to discuss issues of curricula, funding, accessibility etc.

2. Comprehensive Sexuality Education

Sex education has always featured in the curricula of Ghanaian education. We the CCG therefore welcome any education that seeks to help our children attain healthy sexual reproductive lives. However, we seek to reiterate our earlier position on the Comprehensive Sexuality Education and reject any attempt to introduce them into the syllabus of our primary schools as they have underneath them a subtle agenda to introduce gay and lesbian rights into our nation. As we indicated in times past, our cultural norms and religious values as a nation do not support LGBTQ rights and we reject them in all their subtle forms.

3. Free Senior High School Policy)

The Free Senior High School policy has removed one cardinal impediment to access to education, which is funding. As a Council we commend the government for taking this bold step. One major challenge of the policy is inadequate infrastructure. Therefore as we commend government, we appeal that facilities be provided to accommodate all qualified candidates in a one-stream system. We also encourage continuous dialogue of all educational stakeholders to improve on the implementation of the policy

NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE SCHEME (NHIS)

The National Health Insurance Scheme which was started some years ago continues to save lives especially the poor and deprived in the country. However, the challenge remains the slow reimbursement of funds to Church health facilities. We request that the government intervenes to ensure that Church hospitals receive their reimbursements in order not to collapse the health facilities and to ensure that the facilities serve the communities well.

SECURITY

Peace in our sub region has become somewhat fragile with many of our members living in fear in the wake of terrorist attacks on churches. We promise to work with security agencies in their bid to defend this nation against terrorist attacks and humbly request that they give us the necessary information on their intelligence as and when needed to alert our people. Moreover, we admonish all Ghanaians, especially churches and pastors to be security conscious wherever they find themselves and teach same to their congregations.

SANITATION

Plastic wastes have overwhelmed our nation and deprived us of enjoying the beautiful creation of God. We must acknowledge that the sanitation menace we face is our own making, and therefore we can help alleviate the problem. We therefore strongly appeal to the citizens of Ghana to have a change of attitude towards the environment and work to keep it clean. We also entreat government to show political will and practically put measures in place to rid our communities of filth.

CONCLUSION

Beloved in the Lord, the CCG renews our commitment to demonstrate true Christian leadership in all spheres of our lives. Be assured that the Council shall continue to provide support for the government and the people of Ghana through our public education, advocacy and dialogue, social interventions and relentless prayer for the peace and sustainable development of Ghana. We shall continue to remain non-partisan in all matters of national concern and be guided by the principles of the Holy Bible.

Rev. Dr. Cyril G.K Fayose              Most Rev. Dr. Paul Kwabena Boafo
General Secretary                         Chairman

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