Minister calls for State and Church collaboration to combat crime

Ho, Aug. 20, GNA- Mr Joseph Amenowode, Volta Regional Minister has called on the Church to team up with the State to fight crime and moral decadence in society.

Mr Amenowode made the call when he addressed the First General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian (EP) Church in Ho, on behalf of President John Evans Atta Mills. He said: "I humbly call on religious bodies to step up their moral education for the youth in particular, and parents in general to be more responsible in the upbringing and training of their children so that they would grow to become responsible citizens tomorrow. "I urge well meaning stakeholders and collaborators including, traditional rulers, educational authorities, law enforcement agencies and the courts to collaborate with the government to tackle the surging cases of armed robbery. which had put everybody in Ghana in fear." Mr Amenowode called on religious bodies to intensify youth counselling in order to bring up a crop of future leaders who would ensure a remarkable transformation of the socio-economic status of the country.

The Rt. Rev Francis Amenu, Moderator of the church and the Regional Minister were unanimous about the need for Ghana to tackle the inclination of the youth to engage in armed robbery, internet fraud, drug abuse, occultism and violence. Rt. Rev. Amenu expressed dissatisfaction about the inordinate desire of some Christians to acquire wealth through fair and foul means. He said hijacking of the church programmes and projects by certain individuals had become an "existential phenomenon", resulting in the failure of such ventures. Rt. Rev. Amenu said strategizing for the future of the church entailed revamping its dead or dying projects and rehashing financial and management practices.

He said the church was saddled with the scourge of poor performance, planning, management, monitoring and evaluation. Rt. Rev. Amenu also complained about the creeping autocratic principles in some branches of the church, instead of the time-tested democratic Presbyterian principles of church governance. The maiden General Assembly was on the theme: "Newness in Christ". Rt. Rev. Amenu said the theme was relevant for the church and society to facilitate the essence of the "newness" to discharge civic responsibilities and response to the payment of taxes. He called on the government to support the fledgling University College of the church into an institution of excellence in the region. The EP Church was founded 162 years ago by German missionaries and over the years had grown to be an important agent of development.