Presbyterian Church urged to support government

Akropong-Akuapem (E/R), April 6, GNA - The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, has appealed to the Presbyterian Church of Ghana to partner government to provide infrastructure for fresh students who would be admitted to Senior High Schools (SHS) in September. He said though government was determined and had made funds available for the expansion of infrastructure, it needed the support of its long time education partners like the Presbyterian Church to ensure that the programme is implemented smoothly.

Mr Ofosu-Ampofo said this during the inauguration of a two-storey office complex for the Akuapem Presbytery at Akropong. The building, which started in 2008, cost 820,000 Ghana cedis and 98 per cent of the funding came from the members of the church in the districts.

He said 320 SHS had been selected for expansion including about 30 in the Eastern Region.

He said government would focus more on the expansion of classroom blocks and dormitories stage and then expand the other infrastructure in phases to enable classes to begin immediately at the beginning of the academic year in September.

Mr Ofosu-Ampofo appealed to the church to intensify its prison ministry because the morality at the prison was too bad especially the practice of homosexuality. He said the prisons, instead of reforming the inmates, was rather hardening them to become misfits in the society and urged the church to rise up to the occasion.

Rt. Rev. Dr Yaw Frimpong-Manso, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the PCG, said when determined as a people, the country could resolve any challenges confronting the citizenry. He said this idea needed to reflect in all attitudes especially amongst the youth and condemned the recent spate of indiscipline where a section of the youth took the law into their own hands and locked officers out of their offices.

Rt. Rev. Frimpong-Manso suggested to the government to rehabilitate all national heritage buildings that are deteriorating as part of the maintenance culture and discipline and assured that the church would partner government to solve the current educational crisis. Nana Otwasuo Osae Nyampong, the Pesehene who chaired the function, called on the Presbyterian Church to institute chaplaincy at all the palaces in Akuapem where Christianity for that matter Presbyterianism started.

He said through such move the church could influence the traditional leaders to do what is right before God as it was in the Biblical days when Prophet Nathan was stationed at the palace and directed the affairs of King Saul.