For Immediate Release: CCG/GCBC 2022 Joint Communique : Full Text

GREETINGS

Dearly beloved citizens of goodwill resident in Ghana, we bring you greetings from the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) and the Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference (GCBC) in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

PREAMBLE

We, the leaders of the Christian Council of Ghana and the members of the Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference, held our annual Joint Meeting at the Presbyterian Church of Ghana Head Office, Osu, Accra, on Wednesday May 25, 2022. We used the opportunity to hold an Ecumenical Service to pray for Christian unity and the wellbeing of the nation.

In our joint meeting, we discussed matters of both Church and National interests. We deem it appropriate as Christian Leaders to speak to and bring the following issues to the attention of the Government and people of Ghana, especially to members of our Church communities.

GREEN GHANA DAY

The devastation caused to Ghana's forests leading to its rapid depletion is not a good story for our country. Reports indicate that between 1990 and 2010, Ghana lost about 33.7% of its forest cover to galamsey, farming and illegal logging. Yet we also know that the country's forests provide livelihood for majority of our population.

It is in this context that we wish to commend the President for his commitment to continue with the Green Ghana Programme slated for Friday June 10, 2022. The leadership of CCG and GCBC urge all our Pastors to seriously commit to the Green Ghana programme and encourage our Member Churches to set similar targets for planting trees. Where possible, we encourage our churches to mobilize themselves on June 10, 2022 to embark on this project. We call on the Forestry Commission to be supportive and facilitate the execution of the agenda. It has the potential to reverse the dreadful loss to our forest cover while contributing to mitigating climate change impact in Ghana.

EDUCATION AND MATTERS OF INTEREST TO THE CHURCH

We wish to draw the attention of the Ministry of Education to some important matters that are of much interest to the Church in Ghana and the well-being of education as a whole.

First, the leadership of CCG and GCBC have taken delivery of a draft document called "Universal Guidelines for Secondary Schools" that spells out guidelines for all Senior High Schools in the nation. We wish to state emphatically that the Faith-Based Organizations which play a pivotal role in education in Ghana have not been officially notified about any document containing guidelines for Secondary School Education in Ghana.

Secondly, we respectfully wish to remind the Minister of Education that the joint Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by the Ministry and the Missions have not been signed. We kindly appeal to the Minister to expedite action to sign the MoU for the smooth running of our schools. Moreover, we wish to state that no Guideline for Secondary School education should replace the MOU, which both the Missions and the Ministry have put together.

Thirdly, we wish to bring to the attention of the Ministry of Education that the leadership of CCG and GCBC are not happy about the decision to inaugurate a new Ghana Education Service (GES) Council without representation from the Council and the Conference. Both CCG and GCBC are important stakeholders of education in Ghana. We therefore wish to state our displeasure in this matter. We appeal to the Ministry to kindly respect the roles that CCG and GCBC have played and continue to play in the development of education in the country. We therefore wish to state that all critical decisions that are taken on education in the country should be done through consensus building with stakeholders like the Faith-Based Organizations.

CONFLICTS AND LAWLESSNESS IN THE COUNTRY

The leadership of the CCG and GCBC are saddened by the clash between the youth and the police at Nkoranza in the Bono East Region on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, which led to the death of one person with several others injured.

We have heard many reports in the media that have questioned the professionalism of the Police Service in such matters and have taken note of similar examples that have taken place in the recent past.

The CCG and GCBC wish to assure the good citizens of this nation that we will arrange a meeting with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to make the concerns of the citizens known. Meanwhile, we encourage all Ghanaians to always have confidence in the rule of law and never take the law into their own hands. Let us continue to pray for peace for our nation.

TERRORISM AND INTERNAL SECURITY

The CCG and GCBC are deeply concerned about the threat of terrorist attacks on religious gatherings in our country. We wish to thank and appreciate the National Security for their swift promptings of caution to the citizens of the country. We urge them to continue to be vigilant, especially on the borders of the country. We wish to appeal to our Member Churches to ensure adequate security measures at our worship places. We entreat all churches to set up security committees with experts who can educate church members on security awareness. Churches are also to set up security cameras to monitor all those who come in and around their premises. Moreover, we appeal to members who own houses and shops to be careful of those who rent them.

Let us all continue to be watchful and report unusual activities in our communities to the security services. We wish to appeal to Ghanaians to remain calm in the face of the security warnings. The National Security has assured us that they are on top of matters. We however urge everyone to continue to be security conscious as we pray for the peace of God in our nation.

COVID 19 PANDEMIC

The Leadership of CCG and GCBC commend the Ghana Health Service and the Government of Ghana for the efforts put into the mobilization of resources and public education to help fight the Covid-19 pandemic. We also wish to appeal to the President of the Republic to establish an emergency committee that will swiftly deal with any such pandemic in the future.

We urge our fellow citizens to continue to observe the Covid-19 hygienic protocols. Let us continue to wear our face masks, observe social distancing, wash our hands regularly under running water with soap and use the hand sanitizer frequently. We also entreat all Ghanaians to avail themselves for the Covid vaccination to protect themselves and others

CONCLUSION

The Christian Council of Ghana and the Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference wish to assure all Ghanaians that we will continue our public education, Christian advocacy and prayers for peace, harmony, and justice in Ghana. In so doing we will continue to be non-partisan and be guided by the principles of the Holy Bible. We wish all Ghanaians well in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

SIGNED

Rev. Dr. Cyril G.K. Fayose

General Secretary

CCG

Rev Dr Rev. Fr. Lazarus Anondee

Secretary General

GCBC

Rev. Dr. Justice Adjei K. Lawson

Vice Chairman

CCG

For: Most Rev. Philip Naameh

President

GCBC

Download Official Statement Here

Source: CCG