He said politicians must let politics shine a light on what they did and not to try to cover things up in darkness.

Dr Bawumia said this when he addressed the opening of the 46th session of the General Council Meetings of the Church of Pentecost at the Pentecost Convention Centre at Gomoa Fetteh in the Central Region yesterday.

“When you see a politician trying to talk, demand data to support what they are saying, so let us focus on light, let us focus on data, let us eschew insults and propaganda, and let us focus on solving problems that face this country on an everyday basis,” he said.

He endorsed an upcoming meeting between the Church of Pentecost and politicians in the country which, he said, had been scheduled to take place from June 14 to 16, 2023, and commended the church for the “bold initiative”.

Electronic system taxis

The Vice-President also used the occasion to give a hint that commercial taxi drivers, particularly in the Greater Accra Region, would be hooked onto a digital system in the coming months to enable them to operate in similar fashion like the other electronic system-based taxis.

“We will be able to place all our taxis, at least in Greater Accra, to start with, all in an Uber-like platform, and you will be able to call for their services just like the Uber and other electronic taxis. It is a practical solution to a practical problem,” he said, adding that “those are the sort of things we as politicians should be focusing on.”

The Vice-President also announced that the public and private sector transport system would soon go on a “tap and go” system to be accessed with oyster cards by the end of this year.

Conference

The three-day meeting, which is being attended by delegates from the Church of Pentecost from across the country and abroad, is on the theme: “Repositioning the local church for maximum impact in the nations”.

The meeting is the highest decision-making body of the church, and would, as part of its deliberations, witness the election of a General Secretary, Chairman and four other executive members to steer the affairs of the church in Ghana for the next five years.

Dr Bawumia underscored the need for good leadership if the country was to advance as a nation.

He noted that “with the Lord at the centre of everything, it is possible for us to make a maximum impact on our nation with the right leadership”.

Dr Bawumia said the Church of Pentecost provided the country with the needed example that, with good leadership, Ghana had what it would take to manage its affairs and make the country the envy of many.

Commendation

While commending the church and its leadership for its commitment and dedication to both the church and national development over the years, Dr Bawumia said the flock of the church had been blessed with very good leaders.

He catalogued a number of projects and initiatives by the Church of Pentecost, particularly, during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the nation received significant relief from the church.

Dr Bawumia said it was instructive that the church had done all these as an indigenous organisation with no foreign or external support.

He further solicited for prayer support of the Church of Pentecost and other Christian leaders for the peace and prosperity of the country and the world.

State of the church

Delivering his report on the “state of the church” during his five-year stewardship as Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye paid tribute to leaders of the church, some of whom were retiring and others still in service for their roles and contributions.

He said the church in Ghana during the period grew in membership by 7.9 per cent to reach a total membership of 3,597,955 as of December 2022.

Apostle Nyamekye also announced that the European Commission recently awarded the Pentecost University and five other leading international universities with a €2.69 million grant for, among others, research in application of artificial intelligence, cyber-physical systems and robotics.

The over-an-hour report also touched on various sectors of the church, including the youth and children’s ministry, women’s ministry, education and health.

Apostle Nyamekye, however, expressed disappointment that despite all the successes chalked up, the nationwide outbreak of cocoa disease and rehabilitation programmes continued to affect the socio-economic life of members within cocoa growing areas.

He called on area heads and district ministers of the church to devise measures to tackle the challenges hindering the growth of the church in their respective jurisdictions.