Prayer is not the only panacea to our problems -Rev Asante

Chairman of the National Peace Council, Reverend Professor Emmanuel Asante says there is the need for the country to engage proper scientific methods in tackling the economic challenges facing the country.

According to him, prayer is not the only panacea to solving the economic difficulties in the country.

He said Monday morning on RadioXYZ that in as much as life should be seen in a holistic manner, “simply praying will not turn the economy around but it is prayer and action.”

Rev Asante was commenting on a prayer by Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams to save the falling local currency. The General Overseer of the Christian Action Faith Ministries (CAFM) on Sunday led his congregation to pray fervently for the recovery of the fast depreciating Ghana Cedi.

However, Rev Asante noted that although there was nothing wrong with Archbishop Duncan-William’s prayer, there was the need for Christians to advise and preach against those elements that cause economic hardships in the country.

“Whatever it is, I believe as a reverend minister, he was concerned about the well-being of our economy and this is what he has proffered and what he put forward was to pray for God to do something about it. God is a prayer answering God but that is not the only panacea to the problem that we have. We need to go further and the technocrats will do what they need to do and we will continue to pray for those who have the technical know-how to push our economy forward but we believe that with God all things are possible,” he said.

Sharing the same sentiments, retired Diplomat, Mr K. B. Asante also stressed that “God will not stop the free fall off the cedi if we don’t change our ways and if we don’t take the appropriate economic measures which will help us through these difficult times.”

He expressed worry over the economic policies and measures which have led to the increasing importation of goods and services to the detriment of local industries.

“The fall of the cedi is due to a fundamental weakness of the economy and you have to solve it…God has given us enough brains and enough know-how to manage these problems and solve them. It is not by divine intervention. It is because of our wayward ways,” he said.

“What are we doing with our dollars? We use them to buy cars which are too sophisticated for our roads…machines, kenturkey chicken and the like. Now you do this and you don’t work that hard to produce and you still expect to import these things very cheap. No!,” he emphasised.

Mr K. B. Asante called on authorities to “sit up and tell us the truth. Palliatives won’t help. No injection of dollars by the Bank of Ghana will save the falling cedi.’

Click to listen to Archbishop Duncan-Williams' prayer