The acting Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rev Dr Victor Oko Abbey has advised pastors and ministers not to allow themselves to be used as pawns by politicians.

He said the church should be able to stand on its own and speak out without fear or favour when things are going wrong and not kowtow to the dictates of politicians.

“Ministers especially pastors, should not allow themselves to be co-opted by the various governments that come into power for them to speak or praise the government

“If there is something going wrong, the church should be the prophet for the nation and speak out against things that are going wrong,” he told Joy News’ Maxwell Kudekor at the sidelines of the 18th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church held at Akropong.

Rev Dr Abbey who spoke on a number of issues during the interview with Maxwell also lamented the poor governance system in the country.

He said, increasingly, people are entering into politics to enrich themselves not to serve the country.

In his view, the times where people sacrificed for the good of the country has passed and that people seem to be more interested in themselves than the overall prosperity of the country.

This he said is worrying, adding that “Ghana is not a poor country…but right now, there are so many people who are thinking about themselves and are not thinking about the nation Ghana so I am not really happy with the governance system.”

Double Track System

Commenting on the double track system government will be introducing in senior high schools, Rev Dr Abbey commended the Akufo-Addo administration for the move.

He, however, wants the government to listen to contributions and criticisms that have come and make moves to address them in order to make the policy a better one.

“For me, it is innovative, but they should listen to the various advice that is coming in so that we do it in such a way that none of the children will be shortchanged or the nation will not suffer.

“They should put their heads together, work at it, consult widely and implement it…but at the moment and under the circumstances, we don’t have any better alternatives. I pray that the government will listen to people for us to do it in such a way that at the end of it none of the children will suffer,” he added.

Bank Mergers

On the recent merger and dissolution of some indigenous banks by the  Bank of Ghana and the alleged involvement of some clergymen, Rev Dr Abbey tasked leadership of the country to apply the laws devoid of discrimination.

He says anyone who in disregard of the law did not execute their mandate as expected by law must not be spared.

“Nobody should be given any preferential treatment. If you have done the wrong thing, you should be dealt with by the law.

“But going forward, all the institutions that have to make sure that the right things are done should make sure they are done. Those in charge who are not doing their jobs should be dealt with by the law,” he added.

Source: myjoyonline.com