Easter public prayers and the search for national development (Part 2)

In February 2014, the cedi’s value was in freefall.

Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams publicly commanded the cedi to rise against the dollar during a church service.

He ‘commanded a resurrection’ of the cedi, which had depreciated significantly against major foreign currencies.

Following his spiritual command, the cedi continued to depreciate throughout that year against major international currencies, particularly the US dollar. 

Today, the cedi is the fourth strongest currency in Africa, behind only the Tunisian Dinar, Libyan Dinar and Moroccan Dirham.

Financial reports do not attribute the cedi’s recovery to public prayer, but rather to specific economic policies, structural changes and market factors.

Policies

What does the fluctuation in the value of the cedi over time tell us about the efficacy of public prayer, including at Easter?

How can we measure the influence of public prayer compared to that of effective policies, structural changes and other non-prayer factors?

To answer this question, let’s focus on two issues of egregious, perennial and controversial concern for both government and Ghanaians generally: public corruption and illegal mining (galamsey).

Christian groups in Ghana heavily engage in prayer, advocacy and action seeking an end to galamsey and corruption, viewing them, respectively, as signs of spiritual failings and of serious environmental destruction.

Church leaders, including those from the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and various Catholic bodies, frequently condemn these activities as direct assaults on God’s creation. It is likely they will do so again this Easter.

Galamsey

In November 2022, the Conference of Major Superiors of Religious, Ghana, a body comprising leaders of the Consecrated Men and Women Congregations of the Catholic Church composed a prayer against illegal mining and destruction of the environment.

‘We urge our members and all people of faith to join us in seeking from the Lord of all creation forgiveness for the harm we have caused to our environment through our actions and inactions’, the Conference appealed.

In addition, the Religious Men and Women prayed for the ‘Spirit of power and fortitude so that with one accord and a common resolve, they could win the fight against galamsey’.

In July 2025, Dag Heward-Mills, founder and presiding Bishop of the United Denominations Originating from the Lighthouse Group of Churches, led a passionate, national prayer for healing, reconciliation and revival in Ghana at the National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving.

His prayer called on God to restore righteousness, remove corruption and unite the nation.

According to recent public opinion polls, including from both Afrobarometer and Global InfoAnalytics, Ghanaians believe that the country’s key problems include economic hardships, high unemployment and infrastructural deficiencies.

While macroeconomic indicators have recently shown some improvement, many citizens continue to face a challenging cost-of-living crisis. 

Corruption and galamsey feature high on the list of the nation’s most challenging issues.

Public perception of corruption among high-level officials continues to rise, with a significant majority of citizens believing it is increasing.

Many are pessimistic about the direction of national development, lacking confidence that the government has the ability or the will to improve things.

Recent Afrobarometer data indicate that ‘[t]hree-fourths (74 per cent) of Ghanaians say the level of corruption in the country increased over the past year, including 63 per cent who think it rose “a lot”’. The government is squarely blamed: In response to

Afrobarometer’s question: ‘How well or badly would you say the current government is handling the fight against ‘corruption in government?’

Eighty-two per cent of respondents replied: ‘fairly’ or ‘very badly’. Put another way, eight in 10 Ghanaians think corruption is worsening not improving due to government inaction.

Pollution

The ecological destruction, pollution of water bodies and destruction of farmland caused by illegal mining are major voter concerns, leading to public protests and frequent commentary in both traditional and social media.

Many Ghanaians believe that government talks the talk on this issue but so far does not walk the walk, that it is not tackling galamsey with anything like the seriousness necessary to improve things.

Public prayers aiming to fix Ghana’s ills, including at Easter, do not do any obvious harm.

But do they do any good?

There is no evidence to my knowledge that public prayers are important factors in fixing what many see as a ‘broken’ Ghana.

Their capacity to make a beneficial difference in addressing the nation’s main challenges, as recently outlined by President John Dramani Mahama and confirmed by recent public opinion surveys, is unproven.

Public prayers may make people feel better about themselves, but that is not enough to bring about the changes that Ghanaians very much want to see.

To achieve this, what are needed are purposeful, focused, honest and considerate political leaders, imbued with the spirit of national development, consistently applying appropriate policies in order to make a beneficial difference.

Pray by all means – but get policy and governance right and improved national development would follow. 

The writer is an Emeritus Professor of Politics, London Metropolitan University, UK.