“It is the firm belief of the Presbytery that all members of our society must diligently commit themselves to whatever noble pursuit that their hands find to do for the Almighty God to bless their exploits and handiwork.The “get rich quick’ syndrome has no foundation in the word of God as well as in nation building, the  Church said at the end of its seventh session held at Navrongo.

 It was on the theme: “When the Holy Spirit Moves: Energized to pursue our Evangelical mandate”.The Chairperson of the Upper Presbytery, Reverend Emmanuel Atami, stressed that besides the legally acceptable money creation system overseen by the BOG, the constitution does not mandate anybody or an institution to create any legal tender.

The Presbytery therefore called on the Bank of Ghana to investigate the activities of these spiritualists who claim to have powers to raise money besides the legally acceptable money creation system overseen by the Bank of Ghana.The Church stressed that the negative practice was not only unconstitutional but had the greater tendency in nurturing in the youth not to aspire higher and work hard for achievements in life, have patience and hope in God, but to resort to getting money quickly, which it noted could undermine the progress of the society and nation building as a whole.

The Church also called on the National Media Commission and all media houses to help put an end to what it referred to as “the public display of “get rich quick” activities of the ever increasing “juju” money spiritualists on their airwaves.”Whilst expressing concern about the threat of political vigilante groups to national security, the Church called on the government, leaders of the various political parties and the security agencies to ensure that they were disbanded.

On Education, the Church commended government for the expansion of educational facilities   particularly, for taking bold steps in establishing a public university in each of the regions to open more opportunities for people to upgrade themselves using different models of learning. It however observed that at the secondary school level many of the youth were not able to meet the minimum entry requirement to take advantage of tertiary education.

It attributed such problems to the addiction of the youth to social media at the expense of their books and impressed upon parents and guardians to step up their parental and supervisory roles over their wards. It further called on School Management Boards (SMB) and Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) to support by instilling discipline in the students.

“Also at the basic level, the Presbytery has observed that the long standing partnership and cordial relationship between the Religious Educational Units and the Ghana Education Service is gradually breaking down and this is affecting collaboration, supervision and discipline in the schools. The Government and other stakeholders who are into education should strengthen their relationship. Government should treat both private and public educational institutions equitably”.

The Church, which spoke about the annual delay in releasing students’ grants for Second Cycle Institutions in the Northern parts of the country, entreated government to find lasting solution to the problem.Whilst calling on the Government to be committed to the promise of planting for food and jobs and one district, one factory initiatives, it said the effective implementation of the interventions would help in addressing the unemployment problems among the youth and ensure food security.

It said the Presbytery was very worried about the recent recorded suicide cases among the youth and recommended that counselling by parents, educational institutions and religious bodies should be strengthened to enable the youth build emotional stability and cultivate the spirit of endurance.It  urged  the government to sustain the fight against illegal mining by strengthening institutions that have regulatory, monitoring and supervisory role over mining as well as find alternative livelihoods for the affected or yet to be affected people in the galamsey business.

The Church commended the Electoral Commission, Political Parties, the previous Government, Civil Society Organizations, the Security Agencies, and the people of Ghana for collectively working for a peaceful election in December 2016 and ensuring smooth transition.The Church called on all Ghanaians to help nurture the peace the country was currently enjoying.

The seventh Presbytery Session afforded delegates and commissioners the opportunity to reflect and to take stock of the various activities carried out by the Presbytery in 2016.