Let's develop new concept of democracy for Ghana - Most Rev. Sarpong

Archbishop Emeritus of the Kumasi Diocese, Most Reverend Bishop Akwasi Sarpong has called on government to design a better democratic model that can absolve the citizenry from the current problems and challenges confronting the nation in terms of governance.

Rev. Sarpong made this statement when he gave a lecture on 'The Church and Politics; the Ghanaian Experience' at the Catholic Institute of Business and Technology in Accra.

The lecture was organized by the Department of Religious Studies and Church Administration of the Institute.

He detested the kind of democracy we have carbon – copied from the West that has brought about hatred, cheating, stealing, corruption, divisiveness, lies, rancour, and dictatorship, among others. “I remember in the days of Acheampong when he introduced the UNIGOV concept, three of us, all Bishops, wrote to him to reconsider his decision. A paper in Ghana labelled me as a false Bishop who had impregnated three ladies and threatened to publish the names of the mistresses and the kids.”

He disclosed that these threats notwithstanding, they went ahead to propose a new model of democracy that would have been fused with our traditional model, which they believed have immune us from the perennial political tension, confusion, insults, conflicts, tribalism and divisiveness.

He revealed that eminent Ghanaians like the Most Reverend Bishop Kwesi Dickson of the Methodist Church and Dr. Alex Quaison-Sackey, a diplomat who became the first black African to serve as President of the United Nations General Assembly, had similar thoughts that corroborated their proposed new model. Even though Bishop Sarpong did not put out any model, he called for a national dialogue by intellectuals, opinion leaders, CSOs and identifiable groups to come out with a model that will suit Ghanaians, taking the peculiar nature of our culture.

The Bishop, who has served the Catholic Church for the past 41 years, from 1967 to 2008, advised the members of the church to voice out their political frustrations, if any, but advised them to desist from partisan politics. He said Christians should talk about our poor educational systems, social and other critical national issues without fear or favour. “We cannot sit aloof while our rights and sovereignty are being abused.”

He advised Christians to desist from corruption and other social vices that hold back the progress of the country.

According to him, the Lord Jesus Christ was himself a political being and that was why the he criticised the Pharisees, governors and leaders in his time. “If Jesus were here in Ghana today, he would certainly talk about injustices in the system, the corruption, human right abuses, marginalisation of the poor, etc. because Christ associated with the poor and the marginalised,” he postulated.

Quoting Abraham Lincoln, he said he did not see in Ghana today governments of the people, by the people and for the people, but rather politicians have become masters and tin-gods being served by the people. “Let me say that, as Christians, you must humble yourself and serve in whatever capacity you find yourself as Christ came to serve mankind because service to mankind is service to God, he preached.

Most Reverend Bishop Akwasi Sarpong called on journalists to abstain from becoming appendages of politicians who were bent on exploiting the people and the system. “You should stop attacking Christians and Bishops who share their views on critical national issues because the country belongs to all of us. Rather, focus on unearthing ills and corruption submerging our dear country,” he advised the media.

The event was chaired by Mr Franklin Cudjoe, Founder and President of Imani Ghana and had in attendance Most Reverend Gabriel Charles Palmer Buckle, the Vice-Chancellor of the Catholic Institute of Business and Technology (CIBT), Monsignor Dr. Jonathan Thomas Ankrah, eminent Ghanaian economist, Dr Kantinka Kwame Donkor Fordwor, among other very important personalities.