Faith-based organisations to receive additional incentives - Napo declares at Christo Asafo Mission
The running mate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has given an assurance that under the next NPP government, faith-based organisations who meet a certain threshold in terms of their contribution to national development will be given additional incentives to enhance their work as development partners.
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He said the next government would remain steadfastly committed to bold decisions for the country’s future, stating that youth training and skills development remained a cardinal point in his vision.
In that aspect, he said faith-based organisations were critical and strategic partners, stating that their contribution, particularly in the areas of education, health, infrastructure and youth development was very critical.
“Under Dr Bawumia’s vision, faith-based organisations who meet a certain threshold in terms of their contribution to national development will be given additional incentives to enhance their work as development partners,” Dr Opoku Prempeh said.
He gave the assurance yesterday when he joined the Kristo Asafo Mission of Ghana at Gomoah Mpota in the Central Region to unveil its new constitution.
The visit was also to introduce himself to the Leader of the church, Apostle Kwadwo Safo Kantanka, as the running mate for the NPP. He was accompanied by the Central Regional Minister, Justina Marigold Assan, Member of Parliament (MP) for the Dome-Kwabenya Constituency, Sarah Adwoa Safo, as well as the National Organiser of the NPP, Henry Nana Boakye.
Contributions of the church
Throughout the history of the country, he said, churches had played and continued to play a huge and important role in the various areas of development.
In the education sector in particular, he said the early schools were started in the Central Region by Christian missionaries offering not just formal instruction but also vital practical skills training.
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Currently, beyond its core duty of winning souls for Christ and helping people live worthy lives, Dr Opoku Prempeh said, the church remained significantly involved in the education sector at all levels to support the government meet its manpower needs by adding value to the country’s human resource base through education.
He further commended Apostle Safo Kantanka for his innovations and the many honours he had received in that direction. “I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that with its enormous, impressive record of promoting our country’s development through various sectors, the Kristo Asafo Mission stands tall as a prospective strategic development partner under a government led by Dr Mahamudu Bawumia,” Dr Opoku Prempeh said.
Dr Opoku Prempeh also called for strong interfaith cooperation to help protect the country against anything that might cause division along the front of religion.
He noted that the country was blessed in many ways, including the abundance of peace, cooperation and dialogue between various faiths, particularly between Christianity and Islam.
He, therefore, encouraged all religious bodies in the country to work hard to further grow the interfaith dialogue to help consolidate the peace that the nation was enjoying. In recognition of this, he gave an assurance that the next NPP government would continue to engage with the church on several fronts.
He said the NPP’s presidential candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who was also a passionate advocate of inter-faith dialogue, had, on several occasions, demonstrated his love for interfaith dialogue through his interactions with Christian church communities.
peacebuilding
Apostle Safo Kantanka, for his part, admonished Dr Opoku Prempeh, to prioritise peacebuilding and consensus within the party to facilitate victory in the 2024 elections. He emphasised the critical role that unity and harmony played in solidifying the party’s support base in ensuring electoral success.
Commenting further, Apostle Safo Kantanka stressed that after going through the various internal elections, it was obvious that some party faithful who contested and might not have won, would be peeved; hence, the need for internal cohesion and peaceful coexistence among party members.