Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rt. Rev. Professor Emmanuel Martey has asked religious leaders to rebuke and show open abhorrence against corruption.
His call comes at a time that Ghana has been ranked the second most corrupt country in the African continent by Transparency International in its latest report in which people for the first time reported business executives as highly corrupt.
Prof. Martey said the widely pervasive corruption canker has eaten deep into the country's moral fabric and needs to be jettisoned and uprooted to create a just society conducive for economic growth and prosperity.
The Moderator was speaking last Sunday at a ceremony to commission into full-time ministry, 51 new ministerial probationers from the churches’ 25 presbyteries across the country who underwent a special ministerial training at the Ramseyer Training Centre at Abetifi in the Eastern Region.
Professor Martey noted that Ghana was not a poor country, but it was sad that the gross mismanagement of state resources by most people in leadership positions had eroded its economic gains and brought the nation to its current economic mess.
He counselled leaders to demonstrate high levels of integrity and commitment to any agenda put in place to ensure the nation’s economic advancement.
Professor Martey warned the commissioned ministers against immorality, financial malfeasance and cultural prejudice in the church and urged them to preach the unadulterated word of God.
Reverend Seth Okanta, who spoke on behalf of the commissioned ministers, pledged to uphold the integrity, vision, mission and the objective of the church from which they had been called as ministers of God.
“We would do well to avoid complacency, laziness and unprofessional practices which are gaining grounds among some leaders in the church,” he added.